Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.50 Per Share

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 12th,RTT News reports. Shareholders 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 payment by an average of 12.2% annually over the last three years. Group 1 Automotive has a dividend payout ratio of 4.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock traded up $4.77 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $473.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 111,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,055. Group 1 Automotive has a 52 week low of $258.77 and a 52 week high of $489.99. The firm has a market cap of $6.30 billion, a PE ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $436.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $395.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive will post 40.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Group 1 Automotive news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,013,899.56. The trade was a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $460.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 research report on Friday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $447.83.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.