Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) Receives $184.33 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $184.3333.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PAG. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $200.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Penske Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Penske Automotive Group news, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,100 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.55, for a total transaction of $200,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,454,211.10. The trade was a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lisa Ann Davis sold 1,604 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.74, for a total transaction of $289,906.96. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $276,351.46. This trade represents a 51.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 52.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Penske Automotive Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Penske Automotive Group by 9.6% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in Penske Automotive Group by 15.8% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 12,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 1,639 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Penske Automotive Group by 33.4% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 999 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Penske Automotive Group during the first quarter worth $648,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Penske Automotive Group during the first quarter worth $247,000. 77.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

NYSE PAG opened at $165.35 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Penske Automotive Group has a 12-month low of $134.05 and a 12-month high of $189.51. The company has a market capitalization of $10.92 billion, a PE ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $178.91 and its 200-day moving average is $168.89.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by $0.22. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The company had revenue of $7.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.98 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.61 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Penske Automotive Group will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.74%.

Penske Automotive Group Company Profile

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.