Q1 EPS Forecast for Group 1 Automotive Reduced by Analyst

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) – Zacks Research dropped their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Group 1 Automotive in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, November 26th. Zacks Research analyst L. Shahu now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $9.50 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $9.61. The consensus estimate for Group 1 Automotive’s current full-year earnings is $38.38 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Group 1 Automotive’s Q2 2025 earnings at $10.33 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $10.51 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $9.67 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $6.46 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $15.59 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $42.67 EPS.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $12.07 earnings per share.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on GPI. Stephens assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. 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 boosted their target price for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $425.20.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI opened at $426.87 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.37 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $381.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $345.90. 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 has a 1 year low of $255.73 and a 1 year high of $440.32.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,928.59. This trade represents a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors 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 0.44%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign 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.