Seaport Res Ptn Comments on Group 1 Automotive, Inc.’s Q1 2022 Earnings (NYSE:GPI)

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) – Seaport Res Ptn issued their Q1 2022 earnings estimates for shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note issued on Friday, February 11th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst G. Chin anticipates that the company will post earnings of $9.21 per share for the quarter. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Group 1 Automotive’s Q2 2022 earnings at $10.94 EPS, Q3 2022 earnings at $10.74 EPS, Q4 2022 earnings at $8.98 EPS and FY2023 earnings at $30.87 EPS.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 9th. The company reported $9.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $9.05 by $0.49. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.66 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Separately, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $206.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $229.20.

Shares of GPI opened at $170.18 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $184.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.52. Group 1 Automotive has a 12-month low of $141.79 and a 12-month high of $212.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 5.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.71.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GPI. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 10,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,712,000 after buying an additional 745 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 10.9% during the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,756 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,883,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,823,000 after purchasing an additional 37,706 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 6.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 325,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,339,000 after purchasing an additional 19,185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 55.6% in the 2nd quarter. Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL now owns 8,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. 97.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

In related news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.06, for a total value of $1,005,300.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Earl J. Hesterberg sold 13,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.30, for a total value of $2,460,900.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,576 shares of company stock valued at $7,892,837 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 30th. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 4.57%.

About Group 1 Automotive

Group 1 Automotive, Inc engages in the automotive retailing industry. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: U.S, the UK, and Brazil. It also sells new and used cars and light trucks, arranges related vehicle financing, sells service contracts, provides automotive maintenance and repair services, and sells vehicle parts.

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