Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Increases Dividend to $0.50 Per Share

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 12th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share on Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47.

Group 1 Automotive has raised its dividend by an average of 12.2% annually over the last three years. Group 1 Automotive has a payout ratio of 4.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Group 1 Automotive to earn $44.53 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 4.2%.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

GPI opened at $473.31 on Thursday. Group 1 Automotive has a 1-year low of $258.77 and a 1-year high of $489.99. The company has a market cap of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $437.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $395.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.25%. On average, analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive will post 40.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total transaction of $2,560,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 98,467 shares in the company, valued at $42,013,899.56. This trade represents a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GPI shares. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $425.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $447.83.

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.