Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) Receives $172.00 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $172.00.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PAG. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Citigroup increased their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Penske Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Roger S. Penske sold 77,357 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.37, for a total transaction of $12,483,099.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 140,042 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,598,577.54. The trade was a 35.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,529 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.64, for a total transaction of $247,147.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 82,044 shares of company stock valued at $13,257,948 in the last 90 days. 51.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 2,306 shares of the company's stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Penske Automotive Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,763,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Penske Automotive Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its position in Penske Automotive Group by 1,772.7% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,236 shares of the company's stock worth $178,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 4.7% during the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.08% of the company's stock.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Up 0.0%

Penske Automotive Group stock traded up $0.07 on Monday, hitting $182.56. 91,800 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 204,616. Penske Automotive Group has a 1 year low of $134.05 and a 1 year high of $183.14. The firm has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $165.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.13.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 17.80%. Penske Automotive Group's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.21 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Penske Automotive Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.49%.

Penske Automotive Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.