Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) Receives $180.43 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $180.4286.

Several brokerages have recently commented on PAG. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $200.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $170.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Penske Automotive Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Performance

NYSE:PAG opened at $169.48 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.39. Penske Automotive Group has a 52-week low of $140.12 and a 52-week high of $189.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.14 billion, a PE ratio of 12.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.90.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.14. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 15.13% and a net margin of 2.85%.The business had revenue of $7.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.66 earnings per share. Penske Automotive Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group will post 13.33 EPS for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Penske Automotive Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the third quarter valued at about $1,154,000. Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the third quarter worth about $1,157,000. Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the third quarter worth about $5,585,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 21.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 111,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,439,000 after buying an additional 19,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 15.7% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 58,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,223,000 after buying an additional 7,978 shares in the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Penske Automotive Group

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.