Seaport Res Ptn Has Bearish Forecast for GPI Q4 Earnings

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) – Equities research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn lowered their Q4 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report released on Thursday, November 21st. Seaport Res Ptn analyst G. Chin now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $9.22 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $9.25. The consensus estimate for Group 1 Automotive’s current full-year earnings is $38.37 per share.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on GPI. StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price target for the company. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $425.20.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $421.14 on Monday. Group 1 Automotive has a 1 year low of $255.73 and a 1 year high of $422.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $377.50 and its 200 day moving average is $342.90. The stock has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 53.7% in the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at $48,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction of $29,546.79. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,928.59. The trade was a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.