Group 1 Automotive (GPI) Scheduled to Post Earnings on Wednesday

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) is scheduled to release its earnings data before the market opens on Wednesday, April 24th. Analysts expect Group 1 Automotive to post earnings of $9.58 per share for the quarter. Persons that wish to register for the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.44 by ($0.94). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 24.36% and a net margin of 3.34%. The firm had revenue of $4.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $10.86 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Group 1 Automotive to post $39 EPS for the current fiscal year and $39 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:GPI opened at $268.65 on Tuesday. Group 1 Automotive has a twelve month low of $214.25 and a twelve month high of $310.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $271.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $274.03. The company has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.42.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is 4.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on GPI. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Guggenheim upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Group 1 Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $331.67.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.