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

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 8th, NASDAQ reports. Investors of record on Monday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.47 per share on Monday, September 16th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th.

Group 1 Automotive has increased its dividend by an average of 44.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 5 consecutive years. Group 1 Automotive has a payout ratio of 4.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Group 1 Automotive to earn $39.49 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 4.8%.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE GPI traded down $4.67 during trading on Friday, hitting $342.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 124,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,727. Group 1 Automotive has a fifty-two week low of $228.84 and a fifty-two week high of $373.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of 8.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.35. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $310.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $291.72.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $9.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.36 by $0.44. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 3.03% and a return on equity of 20.53%. The company had revenue of $4.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $11.73 EPS. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 38.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 2,437 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.61, for a total transaction of $754,519.57. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,944,552.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 2,437 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.61, for a total value of $754,519.57. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,944,552.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Edward Mckissic sold 170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.92, for a total value of $54,216.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,939,671.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America cut their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim raised Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $337.00.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

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.