Yousif Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,954 shares of the company’s stock after selling 183 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $1,001,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Penske Automotive Group by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 10,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Penske Automotive Group by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 54,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,241,000 after buying an additional 2,446 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,018,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $2,994,000 after buying an additional 873 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PAG. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Penske Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.00.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

PAG stock opened at $170.19 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $160.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.41. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.05 and a 52-week high of $180.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.98, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.12. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The firm had revenue of $7.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. 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 Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a $1.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Penske Automotive Group’s payout ratio is presently 35.49%.

Penske Automotive Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Penske Automotive Group news, CEO Roger S. Penske sold 77,357 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.37, for a total value of $12,483,099.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 140,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,598,577.54. This trade represents a 35.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Shane M. Spradlin sold 3,158 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total value of $527,701.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,040,999.20. The trade was a 8.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 82,044 shares of company stock worth $13,257,948 in the last three months. Insiders own 51.70% of the company’s stock.

About Penske Automotive Group

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.