Seaport Res Ptn Issues Pessimistic Outlook for GPI Earnings

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) – Investment analysts at Seaport Res Ptn reduced their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Group 1 Automotive in a note issued to investors on Thursday, January 16th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst G. Chin now expects that the company will post earnings of $8.85 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $9.22. The consensus estimate for Group 1 Automotive’s current full-year earnings is $38.36 per share.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.87 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $12.07 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on GPI. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $436.83.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE:GPI opened at $447.87 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $424.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $379.07. The stock has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 1.36. Group 1 Automotive has a 1 year low of $255.73 and a 1 year high of $456.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,004,000 after buying an additional 115,143 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 541,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,518,000 after buying an additional 10,969 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 133.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 407,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,253,000 after buying an additional 232,846 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 305,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,080,000 after buying an additional 1,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 156,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,701,000 after buying an additional 3,507 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction of $29,546.79. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,928.59. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,013,899.56. This represents a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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 paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.