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

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, August 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.55 per share on Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st.

Group 1 Automotive has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.3%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 2 years. Group 1 Automotive has a dividend payout ratio of 5.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Group 1 Automotive to earn $45.09 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 4.9%.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

NYSE:GPI traded down $2.06 on Wednesday, hitting $264.19. The company had a trading volume of 34,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 186,153. Group 1 Automotive has a 52 week low of $261.13 and a 52 week high of $488.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $307.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $324.80.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.60 by ($0.99). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 1.31%.The company had revenue of $5.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $10.82 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 39.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GPI. Seaport Research Partners set a $420.00 target price on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group cut their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $338.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Group 1 Automotive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down from $400.00) on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $400.22.

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.