Q4 EPS Estimate for Group 1 Automotive Reduced by Analyst

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) – Equities researchers at Seaport Res Ptn decreased their Q4 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report released on Thursday, January 16th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst G. Chin now expects that the company will earn $8.85 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $9.22. The consensus estimate for Group 1 Automotive’s current full-year earnings is $38.36 per share.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.87 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $12.07 EPS.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $425.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $436.83.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of GPI stock opened at $447.84 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $422.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $376.85. Group 1 Automotive has a 1-year low of $255.73 and a 1-year high of $449.58.

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

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 5.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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 directly owns 98,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,013,899.56. This represents a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,340,928.59. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 133.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 407,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,253,000 after acquiring an additional 232,846 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,004,000 after acquiring an additional 115,143 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 596.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 76,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,259,000 after acquiring an additional 65,414 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 3,663.1% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 55,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,174,000 after acquiring an additional 53,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 244.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,573,000 after acquiring an additional 39,982 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.