Group 1 Automotive, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates in the automotive retail industry. 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. It operates primarily in 17 states in the United States; and 35 towns in the United Kingdom. As of July 11, 2022, the company owned and operated 204 automotive dealerships, 273 franchises, and 47 collision centers that offer 35 brands of automobiles. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. was incorporated in 1995 and is based in Houston, Texas.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
GPI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $160.00 to $142.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 1st.
Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance
GPI Stock traded down $0.08 during trading on Monday, reaching $184.99. 91,933 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 185,351. Group 1 Automotive has a twelve month low of $145.72 and a twelve month high of $212.23. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.
Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 27th. The company reported $12.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.56 by $1.44. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 37.65% and a net margin of 4.35%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $10.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 43.58 earnings per share for the current year.
Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 31st. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is presently 3.90%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive
In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.49, for a total transaction of $181,490.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,354,288.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.