Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) Given New $215.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan raised Penske Automotive Group’s price target from $170 to $215 while maintaining a neutral rating, implying about 1.56% downside from the stock’s $218.40 trading price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with five Buy and five Hold ratings producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $207.88.
• Penske reported quarterly EPS of $3.62, beating estimates of $3.42, while revenue reached $8.51 billion—up 11.1% year over year and above the $7.98 billion consensus.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $170.00 to $215.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price would indicate a potential downside of 1.56% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Penske Automotive Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Penske Automotive Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $199.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $207.88.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

NYSE PAG traded up $0.90 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $218.40. 150,211 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 327,267. The company has a market cap of $14.36 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Penske Automotive Group has a fifty-two week low of $140.12 and a fifty-two week high of $227.00. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $187.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.26.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last released 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. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 14.78% and a net margin of 2.81%.The company had revenue of $8.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. Penske Automotive Group's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group will post 13.48 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.80, for a total transaction of $257,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 17,596 shares in the company, valued at $3,022,992.80. This represents a 7.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,488 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.02, for a total value of $238,109.76. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 52.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Penske Automotive Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in Penske Automotive Group in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 242 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 179.0% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 279 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.