Head-To-Head Comparison: Group 1 Automotive (GPI) versus The Competition

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) is one of 285 publicly-traded companies in the “Specialty Retail” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare Group 1 Automotive to related companies based on the strength of its profitability, dividends, risk, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Group 1 Automotive and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Group 1 Automotive	3	2	5	0	2.20
Group 1 Automotive Competitors	3675	15594	21619	590	2.46

Group 1 Automotive currently has a consensus target price of $328.30, suggesting a potential upside of 25.31%. As a group, “Specialty Retail” companies have a potential upside of 6.85%. Given Group 1 Automotive’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Group 1 Automotive is more favorable than its rivals.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Group 1 Automotive and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Group 1 Automotive	$22.57 billion	$325.20 million	8.29
Group 1 Automotive Competitors	$7.24 billion	$386.51 million	30.27

Group 1 Automotive has higher revenue, but lower earnings than its rivals. Group 1 Automotive is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares Group 1 Automotive and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Group 1 Automotive	1.75%	14.91%	4.19%
Group 1 Automotive Competitors	-3.62%	-13.67%	3.21%

Volatility and Risk

Group 1 Automotive has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Group 1 Automotive’s rivals have a beta of 1.91, indicating that their average share price is 91% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

99.9% of Group 1 Automotive shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.9% of shares of all “Specialty Retail” companies are owned by institutional investors. 2.4% of Group 1 Automotive shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 20.6% of shares of all “Specialty Retail” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Group 1 Automotive pays an annual dividend of $2.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Group 1 Automotive pays out 7.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Specialty Retail” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.1% and pay out 35.6% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Group 1 Automotive has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Summary

Group 1 Automotive rivals beat Group 1 Automotive on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

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. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.