Brokerages Set Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) Target Price at $184.43

Shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $184.4286.

PAG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Citigroup boosted their target price 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Friday, October 31st.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:PAG opened at $165.56 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Penske Automotive Group has a 1-year low of $134.05 and a 1-year high of $189.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $162.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.66.

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 company 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 business’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio is 38.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.17, for a total value of $336,357.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 16,822 shares in the company, valued at $2,694,379.74. This represents a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 52.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Penske Automotive Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 49,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,612,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the third quarter valued at about $510,000. Blue Chip Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 5.6% during the third quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 12,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,169,000 after buying an additional 662 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 62.8% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 12,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,170,000 after buying an additional 4,813 shares during the period. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the third quarter worth about $599,000. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.