Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) to Issue Dividend Increase – $1.26 Per Share

Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 14th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of 1.26 per share on Tuesday, June 3rd. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. This is a 3.3% increase from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22.

Penske Automotive Group has raised its dividend payment by an average of 32.0% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 6 years. Penske Automotive Group has a dividend payout ratio of 33.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Penske Automotive Group to earn $14.38 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 33.9%.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PAG opened at $163.88 on Thursday. Penske Automotive Group has a fifty-two week low of $134.05 and a fifty-two week high of $180.12. The company has a market cap of $10.84 billion, a PE ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.47.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.02% and a return on equity of 18.05%. Penske Automotive Group’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.21 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group will post 13.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PAG shares. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Monday, May 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Penske Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup started coverage on Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.00.

Penske Automotive Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Penske Automotive Group

In other news, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.03, for a total value of $1,513,320.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,917 shares in the company, valued at $5,003,508.51. This represents a 23.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John Barr sold 1,529 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.45, for a total value of $237,683.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 51.70% of the company’s stock.

About Penske Automotive Group

Penske Automotive Group, Inc, a diversified transportation services company, operates automotive and commercial truck dealerships worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Retail Automotive, Retail Commercial Truck, Other, and Non-Automotive Investments. It operates dealerships under franchise agreements with various automotive manufacturers and distributors.