Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) Given “Equal Weight” Rating at Stephens

Stephens reissued their equal weight rating on shares of Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $140.00 target price on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Penske Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $167.00.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Performance

Penske Automotive Group stock opened at $168.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.24 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $158.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.37. Penske Automotive Group has a 52 week low of $134.05 and a 52 week high of $180.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 18.05% and a net margin of 3.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Penske Automotive Group will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.49%.

Penske Automotive Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 14th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,529 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.64, for a total value of $247,147.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roger S. Penske sold 77,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.37, for a total value of $12,483,099.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 140,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,598,577.54. The trade was a 35.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 82,044 shares of company stock worth $13,257,948 over the last three months. 51.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Penske Automotive Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,004,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,656,000 after buying an additional 5,641 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 7.0% in the first quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 863,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,331,000 after buying an additional 56,669 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 606,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,487,000 after purchasing an additional 20,506 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 28.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 380,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,751,000 after purchasing an additional 84,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 263,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,179,000 after purchasing an additional 51,720 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

About Penske Automotive Group

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.