Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.55

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.55 per share on Monday, March 16th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This is a 10.0% increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50.

Group 1 Automotive has raised its dividend by an average of 0.3%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. 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

NYSE:GPI opened at $337.18 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.48 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Group 1 Automotive has a 12-month low of $331.59 and a 12-month high of $490.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $391.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $416.98.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $8.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.36 by ($0.87). The company had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 1.44%.Group 1 Automotive’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $10.02 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

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.