Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) Receives $172.50 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the five research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $172.50.

PAG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Benchmark started coverage on Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Penske Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE PAG opened at $154.31 on Friday. Penske Automotive Group has a 12-month low of $142.32 and a 12-month high of $180.12. The stock has a market cap of $10.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.64.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.56 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 18.05% and a net margin of 3.02%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Penske Automotive Group will post 13.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $1.22 dividend. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Penske Automotive Group’s payout ratio is currently 35.49%.

Insider Transactions at Penske Automotive Group

In other Penske Automotive Group news, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.03, for a total transaction of $1,513,320.38. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,917 shares in the company, valued at $5,003,508.51. The trade was a 23.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Barr sold 1,529 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.45, for a total transaction of $237,683.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 51.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAG. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 806,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,998,000 after buying an additional 13,106 shares in the last quarter. CSS LLC IL grew its position in Penske Automotive Group by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. CSS LLC IL now owns 2,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $404,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Penske Automotive Group by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 65,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,028,000 after acquiring an additional 8,438 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 134,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,430,000 after purchasing an additional 5,669 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 19,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,994,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares in the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.