Zacks Research Issues Negative Outlook for GPI Earnings

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) – Analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for Group 1 Automotive in a report released on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $9.42 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $10.02. The consensus estimate for Group 1 Automotive’s current full-year earnings is $41.00 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Group 1 Automotive’s Q2 2026 earnings at $10.76 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $10.83 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $10.42 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $41.43 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $12.29 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $8.56 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $14.71 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $12.14 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $47.70 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $52.65 EPS.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on GPI. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $460.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Evercore started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, January 9th. Bank of America started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays set a $470.00 target price on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $458.00.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI opened at $313.75 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $361.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $403.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.08. Group 1 Automotive has a 52-week low of $306.73 and a 52-week high of $488.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.91.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $8.49 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 17.39% and a net margin of 1.44%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $10.02 EPS.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 10.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $0.55 dividend. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 8.80%.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GPI. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 366,770.5% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 25,431,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,002,195,000 after purchasing an additional 25,424,532 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 678,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,788,000 after buying an additional 25,209 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 505,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,659,000 after purchasing an additional 7,418 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $98,125,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 34.8% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 226,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,278,000 after purchasing an additional 58,641 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

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.