Q1 EPS Forecast for Group 1 Automotive Lowered by Analyst

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, November 26th. Zacks Research analyst L. Shahu now anticipates that the company will earn $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 earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $12.07 earnings per share.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on GPI. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $425.20.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $427.76 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a 50 day moving average of $380.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $345.33. Group 1 Automotive has a 52-week low of $255.73 and a 52-week high of $440.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 2.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 156,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,701,000 after acquiring an additional 3,507 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter valued at approximately $272,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 305,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,080,000 after purchasing an additional 1,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 244.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,573,000 after purchasing an additional 39,982 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,340,928.59. The trade was a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.