Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Shareholders to Get $0.55 Quarterly Dividend

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share on Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st.

Group 1 Automotive has raised its dividend by an average of 0.3% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. Group 1 Automotive has a dividend payout ratio of 5.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Group 1 Automotive to earn $40.91 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 5.4%.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPI traded down $1.95 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $262.23. 32,806 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 200,634. The firm has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 8.30, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $255.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $302.80. Group 1 Automotive has a 12 month low of $224.65 and a 12 month high of $429.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $9.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.50 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 1.75%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $10.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 37.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Group 1 Automotive news, Director Steven Mizell sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.52, for a total transaction of $143,286.00. Following the sale, the director owned 33 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,597.16. This represents a 94.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. acquired 20,471 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $246.14 per share, with a total value of $5,038,731.94. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,012,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,305,060.60. This represents a 1.03% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased a total of 820,030 shares of company stock valued at $211,496,571 in the last 90 days. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GPI. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 445.8% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 131 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 112.0% during the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter worth $75,000. Finally, Group One Trading LLC bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter worth $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. is an international automotive retailer headquartered in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1997, the company operates franchised dealerships and collision centers in the United States and the United Kingdom. Its dealerships sell new and used vehicles from a range of manufacturers and provide related services, including vehicle maintenance and repair, parts sales, collision repair, and automotive financing and insurance products. Group 1’s business also includes manufacturer-authorized service operations and parts departments that support customers throughout vehicle ownership.