Brokerages Set Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) PT at $162.75

Shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $162.40.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $161.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd.

Insider Activity at Penske Automotive Group

In related news, Director John Barr sold 716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.71, for a total transaction of $122,228.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 51.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Penske Automotive Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $838,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 32.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 374 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 5,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $907,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of PAG opened at $152.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.31. Penske Automotive Group has a twelve month low of $137.95 and a twelve month high of $179.72.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.22. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.05% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The business had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Penske Automotive Group will post 13.79 EPS for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.76%.

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.