Analysts Set Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) Price Target at $184.33

Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $185.1667.

PAG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $200.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Benchmark raised their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Insider Activity at Penske Automotive Group

In other Penske Automotive Group news, Director Lisa Ann Davis sold 1,604 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.74, for a total transaction of $289,906.96. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $276,351.46. The trade was a 51.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,100 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.55, for a total value of $200,805.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,454,211.10. The trade was a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 52.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Penske Automotive Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,004,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,656,000 after acquiring an additional 5,641 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 890,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,972,000 after acquiring an additional 26,827 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 21.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 681,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,953,000 after acquiring an additional 118,976 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 28.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 380,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,751,000 after acquiring an additional 84,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 223,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,198,000 after acquiring an additional 7,276 shares during the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of PAG stock opened at $174.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.90. Penske Automotive Group has a 52-week low of $134.05 and a 52-week high of $189.51. The company has a market capitalization of $11.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s fifty day moving average is $178.85 and its 200 day moving average is $169.12.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by $0.22. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 3.13%.The business had revenue of $7.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.32 per share. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. Penske Automotive Group’s payout ratio is presently 36.74%.

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.