Group 1 Automotive (GPI) Projected to Post Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) will likely be issuing its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Wednesday, January 29th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $8.77 per share and revenue of $5,215,200.00 billion for the quarter. Investors that are interested in participating in the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $12.07 EPS. Group 1 Automotive’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Group 1 Automotive to post $38 EPS for the current fiscal year and $40 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $454.67 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.00. Group 1 Automotive has a one year low of $255.73 and a one year high of $458.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $427.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $383.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 1.36.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total value of $2,560,080.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,013,899.56. This represents a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,928.59. The trade was a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on GPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $425.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $436.83.

About Group 1 Automotive

Group 1 Automotive, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates in the automotive retail industry in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company sells new and used cars, light trucks, and vehicle parts, as well as service and insurance contracts; arranges related vehicle financing; and offers automotive maintenance and repair services.