Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) Stock

Key Points

• Bank of America raised its price target on Penske Automotive Group to $238 from $200 and kept a buy rating, implying about 30% upside from the prior close.
• Other analysts remain generally positive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $188, and six analysts rate it a Buy versus four Hold ratings.
• Penske recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting EPS of $3.05 versus estimates of $2.91 and revenue of $7.86 billion, though revenue still declined 1.1% year over year.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by equities research analysts at Bank of America from $200.00 to $238.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Bank of America's target price suggests a potential upside of 30.17% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $167.00 target price for the company. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $193.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Penske Automotive Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $188.00.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

Penske Automotive Group stock opened at $182.84 on Thursday. Penske Automotive Group has a 1 year low of $140.12 and a 1 year high of $189.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $172.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.70. The company has a market cap of $12.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.64, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.87.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.14. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 15.13%. The company had revenue of $7.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.66 EPS. Penske Automotive Group's revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Penske Automotive Group will post 13.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Penske Automotive Group

In other Penske Automotive Group news, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.80, for a total value of $257,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 17,596 shares in the company, valued at $3,022,992.80. The trade was a 7.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,488 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.02, for a total transaction of $238,109.76. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 52.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 28.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 380,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,751,000 after purchasing an additional 84,045 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 4.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 68,884 shares of the company's stock worth $9,918,000 after buying an additional 3,100 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the first quarter worth $42,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 506.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 880 shares of the company's stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 47.0% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,108 shares of the company's stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 994 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.08% of the company's stock.

Penske Automotive Group Company Profile

Penske Automotive Group, Inc NYSE: PAG, headquartered in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, is an international transportation services company primarily focused on automotive and commercial truck dealerships. The company retails new and pre-owned vehicles across a broad spectrum of brands, while offering parts, maintenance, collision repair and reconditioning services. In addition, Penske provides financing and insurance products through its integrated finance and insurance operations, supporting both retail customers and commercial clients.

Formed in 1990 as United Auto Group and publicly traded since 1999, Penske Automotive Group has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish a network of dealerships and service centers across the United States and Europe.

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