JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) Price Target to $175.00

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) had its price objective lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $180.00 to $175.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on PAG. Benchmark lifted their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Citigroup upped 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $184.33.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Performance

NYSE PAG opened at $158.76 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $172.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.16. The stock has a market cap of $10.46 billion, a PE ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.97. Penske Automotive Group has a fifty-two week low of $134.05 and a fifty-two week high of $189.51.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.71 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 16.84%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group will post 13.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. Penske Automotive Group’s payout ratio is currently 38.85%.

Insider Activity at Penske Automotive Group

In other news, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,100 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,454,211.10. The trade was a 5.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lisa Ann Davis sold 1,604 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.74, for a total transaction of $289,906.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $276,351.46. This represents a 51.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 51.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PAG. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 935.3% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 176 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Penske Automotive Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 237.0% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. 77.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.