Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts hold a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Penske Automotive Group, with five buy ratings and five hold ratings. The average 12-month price target is $208.50.
• Penske reported quarterly earnings of $3.62 per share, beating estimates of $3.42, while revenue rose 11.1% year over year to $8.51 billion.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.44 per share, equivalent to an annualized $5.76 payout and a 2.7% yield; institutional investors own 77.08% of the stock.

Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $208.50.

Several research analysts recently commented on PAG shares. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $166.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup cut shares of Penske Automotive Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $199.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $170.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group set a $190.00 target price on Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Friday, July 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Penske Automotive Group

In other news, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.80, for a total transaction of $257,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 17,596 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,022,992.80. The trade was a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 52.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Penske Automotive Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAG. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 14,982.0% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,677,601 shares of the company's stock valued at $658,107,000 after acquiring an additional 3,653,217 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Penske Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter worth $417,516,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,484,075 shares of the company's stock worth $234,914,000 after purchasing an additional 92,794 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,447,910 shares of the company's stock worth $216,489,000 after purchasing an additional 154,443 shares during the period. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 14,852.0% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 884,411 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,237,000 after purchasing an additional 878,496 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.08% of the company's stock.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Performance

NYSE PAG opened at $217.12 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Penske Automotive Group has a 12-month low of $140.12 and a 12-month high of $227.00. The firm has a market cap of $14.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.84.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $3.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.42 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $8.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.98 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 14.78% and a net margin of 2.81%.The business's revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group will post 13.61 EPS for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $1.44 dividend. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Penske Automotive Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.42%.

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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