Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.03 EPS

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 2.68%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $12.07 earnings per share.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GPI traded down $1.98 during trading on Friday, reaching $362.34. The stock had a trading volume of 136,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,789. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a PE ratio of 9.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.32. Group 1 Automotive has a one year low of $255.73 and a one year high of $393.93. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $365.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $330.02.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 2nd were given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 5.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GPI shares. Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $360.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America lowered their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $396.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.99, for a total transaction of $421,188.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,419,344.58. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.