Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (GPI) To Go Ex-Dividend on December 1st

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.50 per share on Monday, December 15th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st.

Group 1 Automotive has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 2 years. Group 1 Automotive has a dividend payout ratio of 4.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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 Stock Performance

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $392.10 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $433.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $436.04. Group 1 Automotive has a 1-year low of $355.91 and a 1-year high of $490.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.72, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.91.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $10.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.64 by ($0.19). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 18.08%. The business had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $560.00 to $545.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Zacks Research cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $478.88.

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.