Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (GPI) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 3rd

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 12th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share on Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47.

Group 1 Automotive has increased its dividend by an average of 12.2% per year over the last three years. Group 1 Automotive has a dividend payout ratio of 4.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Group 1 Automotive to earn $44.53 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 4.2%.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI stock opened at $484.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $6.46 billion, a PE ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 1.36. Group 1 Automotive has a 1 year low of $258.77 and a 1 year high of $489.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $437.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $395.74.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.25%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive will post 40.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total value of $2,560,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,013,899.56. This represents a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $425.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on 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. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $447.83.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.