Stephens Boosts Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) Price Target to $210.00

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at Stephens from $166.00 to $210.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Stephens’ price target would suggest a potential downside of 3.97% from the stock’s current price.

PAG has been the topic of several other reports. Benchmark cut Penske Automotive Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group set a $190.00 price objective on Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Penske Automotive Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.25.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of PAG opened at $218.67 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.84. Penske Automotive Group has a twelve month low of $140.12 and a twelve month high of $227.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $186.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.89.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $3.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.42 by $0.20. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 14.78%. The firm had revenue of $8.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Penske Automotive Group will post 13.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Penske Automotive Group

In other Penske Automotive Group news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,488 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.02, for a total transaction of $238,109.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,500 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.80, for a total value of $257,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 17,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,022,992.80. The trade was a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 52.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,484,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,914,000 after purchasing an additional 92,794 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 11.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,447,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,489,000 after purchasing an additional 154,443 shares in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 14,852.0% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 884,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,237,000 after purchasing an additional 878,496 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 39,232.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 863,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,660,000 after purchasing an additional 861,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Penske Automotive Group by 6.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 726,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,043,000 after buying an additional 44,749 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Penske Automotive Group Company Profile

Penske Automotive Group, Inc (NYSE: PAG), headquartered in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, is an international transportation services company primarily focused on automotive and commercial truck dealerships. The company retails new and pre-owned vehicles across a broad spectrum of brands, while offering parts, maintenance, collision repair and reconditioning services. In addition, Penske provides financing and insurance products through its integrated finance and insurance operations, supporting both retail customers and commercial clients.

Formed in 1990 as United Auto Group and publicly traded since 1999, Penske Automotive Group has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish a network of dealerships and service centers across the United States and Europe.