Group 1 Automotive (GPI) Set to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) is scheduled to be releasing its earnings data before the market opens on Wednesday, October 30th. Analysts expect Group 1 Automotive to post earnings of $10.27 per share for the quarter. Persons that are interested in participating in the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

GPI stock opened at $353.35 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $364.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $328.17. The stock has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.32. Group 1 Automotive has a 1 year low of $246.02 and a 1 year high of $393.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.26.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is 4.44%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.99, for a total transaction of $421,188.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,419,344.58. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GPI. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $360.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stephens began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $396.80.

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.