Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (GPI) To Go Ex-Dividend on June 2nd

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 13th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share on Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd.

Group 1 Automotive has increased its dividend payment by an average of 12.2% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. Group 1 Automotive has a payout ratio of 4.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Group 1 Automotive to earn $44.83 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 4.5%.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

NYSE:GPI opened at $440.15 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 0.94. Group 1 Automotive has a one year low of $279.86 and a one year high of $490.09. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $403.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $421.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $10.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.68 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $5.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.37 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.09%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.49 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.57, for a total value of $654,184.41. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,350,008.20. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GPI shares. Guggenheim cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $454.43.

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.