Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $8.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.82 by ($0.16), FiscalAI reports. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 17.39% and a net margin of 1.44%.The firm had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Group 1 Automotive’s conference call:

• Reported Q1 results of $5.4 billion revenue, $878 million gross profit, $104 million adjusted net income, and $8.66 adjusted diluted EPS, indicating resilience across the business despite challenging conditions.
• Implemented U.S. cost actions—nearly 700 headcount reductions plus contract/vendor cuts—to deliver about $50 million of annualized savings (roughly $12.5M per quarter), with benefits beginning in Q2 to restore SG&A leverage.
• After-sales and F&I are key bright spots—U.S. same-store customer-pay gross profit rose ~6%, U.K. parts & service same-store gross profit grew ~20%, and virtual F&I (in ~1/3 of U.S. stores, doing 20% of deals) is improving PRUs, speed and F&I productivity.
• Used-vehicle profitability is under pressure—same-store GPUs declined ~3% as sourcing is constrained, inventory mix is light on lower-cost higher-margin late-model trade-ins (days’ supply ~26), and rising negative equity is a headwind to conversions.
• Disciplined capital allocation continues—disposed of underperforming/high-cost stores, completed targeted U.K. acquisitions and a Geely framework (three Geely dealerships to open in Q2), and repurchased ~205k shares (~1.7%) with ~$306M remaining on the buyback program.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Group 1 Automotive stock traded up $14.48 on Friday, reaching $371.35. 17,576 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 174,470. The stock has a market cap of $4.41 billion, a PE ratio of 14.85, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Group 1 Automotive has a twelve month low of $292.44 and a twelve month high of $488.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $328.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $371.21.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GPI. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter valued at about $206,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter valued at about $223,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at about $238,000. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at about $233,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at about $265,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $490.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $455.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $460.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Benchmark upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $447.14.

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.