Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.14 EPS

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $9.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.50 by ($0.14), FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $10.45 EPS. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Group 1 Automotive stock traded down $7.64 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $246.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 46,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 200,593. Group 1 Automotive has a fifty-two week low of $224.65 and a fifty-two week high of $429.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $254.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $309.60.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $387.00 to $357.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 28th. DA Davidson set a $425.00 price target on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. KeyCorp set a $425.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $232.00 in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $341.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. purchased 133,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $243.58 per share, for a total transaction of $32,511,109.76. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 1,772,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $431,635,939. This trade represents a 8.15% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 820,030 shares of company stock worth $211,496,571. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc is an international automotive retailer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company operates dealerships that sell new and used automobiles and light trucks from a broad range of manufacturers.

In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides automotive financing and insurance products, vehicle maintenance and repair, collision services, replacement parts, and other related services. Its dealerships also market vehicles through digital retailing platforms.

Founded in 1997, Group 1 Automotive serves customers through a network of dealerships and automotive service locations in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Brazil.