Group 1 Automotive, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.55 (NYSE:GPI)

Key Points

• Group 1 Automotive declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, payable September 15 to shareholders of record on September 1. The dividend implies a $2.20 annualized payout and an approximately 0.8% yield.
• The dividend appears well covered, with a current payout ratio of 5.0% and an expected future payout ratio of 4.9%, though the company has increased its dividend for only the past two years.
• GPI shares fell to $264.19, near their 12-month low, after the company reported quarterly EPS of $9.61 versus the $10.60 consensus estimate and revenue of $5.39 billion, down 5.6% year over year.

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.55 per share on Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st.

Group 1 Automotive has increased its dividend by an average of 0.3%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 2 years. Group 1 Automotive has a payout ratio of 5.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Group 1 Automotive to earn $45.09 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 4.9%.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI stock traded down $2.06 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $264.19. 34,042 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 186,153. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 11.00, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.82. Group 1 Automotive has a twelve month low of $261.13 and a twelve month high of $488.39. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $307.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $324.80.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.60 by ($0.99). The business had revenue of $5.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.66 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $10.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 39.37 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 366,770.5% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 25,431,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,002,195,000 after purchasing an additional 25,424,532 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth $593,420,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at about $98,125,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the second quarter valued at about $27,000,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 968.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 84,412 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,931,000 after acquiring an additional 76,514 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company's stock.

About Group 1 Automotive

Group 1 Automotive, Inc NYSE: GPI is an international automotive retailer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company operates an extensive network of franchised dealerships, offering new and pre-owned vehicles from leading domestic and import manufacturers. In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides a full complement of aftersales services, including finance and insurance products, parts distribution, collision repair centers and vehicle maintenance.

Founded in 1997, Group 1 Automotive has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish a presence across the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil.

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