Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $200.00 to $238.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Penske Automotive Group traded as high as $191.25 and last traded at $191.0250, with a volume of 114387 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $182.52.

A number of other research firms have also commented on PAG. Stephens boosted their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Barclays lowered their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $193.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Penske Automotive Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $188.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Penske Automotive Group news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,488 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.02, for a total value of $238,109.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,500 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 17,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,022,992.80. This trade represents a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 52.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Penske Automotive Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 28.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 380,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,751,000 after purchasing an additional 84,045 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 4.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 68,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,918,000 after buying an additional 3,100 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 506.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 880 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 47.0% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 994 shares in the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Up 4.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business’s fifty day moving average is $172.97 and its 200 day moving average is $163.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.87.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $7.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.71 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 15.13%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.66 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.39%.

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.