Head-To-Head Comparison: Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) vs. Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN)

Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) and Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends and earnings.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

77.6% of Urban Outfitters shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.1% of Penske Automotive Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 32.1% of Urban Outfitters shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 52.9% of Penske Automotive Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Urban Outfitters and Penske Automotive Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Urban Outfitters	$6.17 billion	1.08	$464.92 million	$6.41	12.10
Penske Automotive Group	$32.20 billion	0.44	$935.40 million	$13.58	16.07

Penske Automotive Group has higher revenue and earnings than Urban Outfitters. Urban Outfitters is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Penske Automotive Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Urban Outfitters and Penske Automotive Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Urban Outfitters	8.79%	18.64%	10.34%
Penske Automotive Group	2.81%	14.78%	4.72%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Urban Outfitters and Penske Automotive Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Urban Outfitters	0	7	8	0	2.53
Penske Automotive Group	0	5	5	0	2.50

Urban Outfitters presently has a consensus target price of $89.75, indicating a potential upside of 15.69%. Penske Automotive Group has a consensus target price of $208.50, indicating a potential downside of 4.43%. Given Urban Outfitters’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Urban Outfitters is more favorable than Penske Automotive Group.

Volatility & Risk

Urban Outfitters has a beta of 1.26, meaning that its share price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Penske Automotive Group has a beta of 0.84, meaning that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Urban Outfitters beats Penske Automotive Group on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters, Inc. engages in the retail and wholesale of general consumer products. The company operates through three segments: Retail, Wholesale, and Nuuly. It operates Urban Outfitters stores, which offer women's and men's fashion apparel, activewear, intimates, footwear, accessories, home goods, electronics, and beauty products for young adults aged 18 to 28; and Anthropologie stores that provide women's apparel, accessories, intimates, shoes, and home furnishings, as well as gifts, decorative items, and beauty and wellness products for women aged 28 to 45. The company also operates Terrain stores that provide lifestyle home products, garden and outdoor living products, antiques, live plants, flowers, wellness products, and accessories. In addition, it operates Free People retail stores, which offer casual women's apparel, intimates, activewear, shoes, accessories, home products, gifts, and beauty and wellness products for young women aged 25 to 30; and restaurants, as well as women's apparel subscription rental service under the Nuuly brand. Further, the company is involved in the wholesale of young women's contemporary casual apparel, intimates, activewear, and shoes under the Free People brand; and apparel collections under the Urban Outfitters brand. The company serves its customers directly through retail stores, websites, mobile applications, catalogs and customer contact centers, franchisee-owned stores, and department and specialty stores, as well as social media and third-party digital platforms. Urban Outfitters, Inc. was founded in 1970 and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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. The company is also involved in the sale of new and used motor vehicles, maintenance and repair services, sale and placement of third-party finance and insurance products, third-party extended service and maintenance contracts, replacement and aftermarket automotive products, collision repair services, and wholesale of parts. In addition, it operates a heavy and medium duty truck dealership, which offers Freightliner and Western Star branded trucks, as well as offers a range of used trucks. Further, it imports and distributes Western Star heavy-duty trucks, MAN heavy and medium duty trucks and buses, and Dennis Eagle refuse collection vehicles with associated parts. Additionally, the company distributes diesel and gas engines, and power systems. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.