AutoNation (AN) Competitors

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) and AutoNation (NYSE:AN) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, earnings, media sentiment, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, community ranking and analyst recommendations.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor PAG or AN?

AutoNation received 36 more outperform votes than Penske Automotive Group when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 60.17% of users gave Penske Automotive Group an outperform vote while only 56.10% of users gave AutoNation an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Penske Automotive Group	Outperform Votes 355 60.17%	Underperform Votes 235 39.83%
AutoNation	Outperform Votes 391 56.10%	Underperform Votes 306 43.90%

Do institutionals and insiders believe in PAG or AN?

77.1% of Penske Automotive Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.6% of AutoNation shares are owned by institutional investors. 51.7% of Penske Automotive Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of AutoNation shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is PAG or AN more profitable?

Penske Automotive Group has a net margin of 3.02% compared to AutoNation's net margin of 2.59%. AutoNation's return on equity of 30.48% beat Penske Automotive Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Penske Automotive Group	3.02%	18.05%	5.50%
AutoNation	2.59%	30.48%	5.62%

Which has higher earnings and valuation, PAG or AN?

Penske Automotive Group has higher revenue and earnings than AutoNation. AutoNation 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.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Penske Automotive Group	$30.61B	0.37	$918.90M	$14.20	11.96
AutoNation	$26.97B	0.27	$692.20M	$16.90	11.38

Do analysts recommend PAG or AN?

Penske Automotive Group currently has a consensus price target of $167.00, indicating a potential downside of 1.64%. AutoNation has a consensus price target of $200.75, indicating a potential upside of 4.40%. Given AutoNation's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe AutoNation is more favorable than Penske Automotive Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Penske Automotive Group	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
AutoNation	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.89

Which has more risk & volatility, PAG or AN?

Penske Automotive Group has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AutoNation has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media refer more to PAG or AN?

In the previous week, Penske Automotive Group had 9 more articles in the media than AutoNation. MarketBeat recorded 13 mentions for Penske Automotive Group and 4 mentions for AutoNation. AutoNation's average media sentiment score of 1.48 beat Penske Automotive Group's score of 0.73 indicating that AutoNation is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Penske Automotive Group	8 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
AutoNation	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

AutoNation beats Penske Automotive Group on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.