Group 1 Automotive, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.47 (NYSE:GPI)

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 12th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.47 per share on Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%.

Group 1 Automotive has increased its dividend by an average of 44.2% annually over the last three years. Group 1 Automotive has a payout ratio of 4.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Group 1 Automotive to earn $40.01 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 4.7%.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

GPI stock traded up $11.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $416.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,602. Group 1 Automotive has a 1 year low of $255.73 and a 1 year high of $420.30. The stock has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.81, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $368.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $336.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

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 company had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $12.07 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive will post 38.6 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Stephens began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.80.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.99, for a total transaction of $421,188.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 9,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,419,344.58. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction of $29,546.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,340,928.59. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.99, for a total value of $421,188.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,742 shares in the company, valued at $3,419,344.58. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.