Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) Research Coverage Started at Barclays

Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) in a research report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock.

PAG has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup lifted their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $200.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.86.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE PAG opened at $159.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.52 billion, a PE ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $170.13 and its 200 day moving average is $171.24. Penske Automotive Group has a twelve month low of $134.05 and a twelve month high of $189.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.71 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 16.84%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This is a boost from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. Penske Automotive Group’s payout ratio is 38.85%.

Insider Activity at Penske Automotive Group

In related news, Director Lisa Ann Davis sold 1,604 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.74, for a total value of $289,906.96. Following the sale, the director owned 1,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $276,351.46. This trade represents a 51.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.55, for a total transaction of $200,805.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,454,211.10. This represents a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 52.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Penske Automotive Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Penske Automotive Group by 48.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,391,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,958,000 after acquiring an additional 456,611 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,425,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 21.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 681,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,953,000 after purchasing an additional 118,976 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 28.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 380,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,751,000 after purchasing an additional 84,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 4,364.2% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 84,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,581,000 after purchasing an additional 82,964 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

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.