Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.45

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 15th, NASDAQ reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.45 per share on Friday, December 15th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 30th.

Group 1 Automotive has increased its dividend payment by an average of 11.2% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 4 consecutive years. Group 1 Automotive has a dividend payout ratio of 4.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Group 1 Automotive to earn $39.39 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 4.6%.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:GPI opened at $290.93 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $259.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $251.70. Group 1 Automotive has a fifty-two week low of $159.87 and a fifty-two week high of $293.77.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The company reported $12.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.48 by $0.59. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.52 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 3.67% and a return on equity of 26.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $12.00 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 45.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, CEO Daryl Kenningham sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.41, for a total value of $2,492,895.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,441,640.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Group 1 Automotive news, CEO Daryl Kenningham sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.41, for a total transaction of $2,492,895.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,548 shares in the company, valued at $6,441,640.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 2,259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.96, for a total transaction of $598,544.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 19,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,128,300.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 4,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 5.0% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 4,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,246,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 5.7% in the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 5,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,323,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 64.4% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 96,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,025,000 after buying an additional 37,997 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 31st. Stephens raised their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $295.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Benchmark upped their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $300.00 to $340.00 in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $134.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th.

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.