Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, July 27th.
According to Zacks, “Penske Automotive is acquiring new dealerships and franchises, which will enable the company to expand its global presence and improve earnings. Also, a favorable automotive retail environment in the U.S. and U.K. is anticipated to show a positive impact on its sales. Moreover, its focus on capital deployment by paying regular dividends and undergoing share repurchases programs will boost shareholders’ value. However, the company carries an ample amount of inventory that can affect its short term liquidity. Moreover, foreign currency fluctuations and macro-economic conditions outside U.S. are other headwinds for the company.”
PAG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 9th. ValuEngine cut Penske Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 2nd. BidaskClub upgraded Penske Automotive Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 14th. Gabelli upgraded Penske Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (down previously from $54.00) on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. The company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.67.
Penske Automotive Group (PAG) traded down 3.60% during trading on Thursday, hitting $39.04. 401,391 shares of the stock were exchanged. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $43.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.89. Penske Automotive Group has a 1-year low of $39.02 and a 1-year high of $56.05. The stock has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.31 and a beta of 1.48.
Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.07. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 1.75%. The company had revenue of $5.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Penske Automotive Group will post $4.31 EPS for the current year.
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In other Penske Automotive Group news, President Robert H. Kurnick, Jr. sold 11,172 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $474,586.56. Following the transaction, the president now owns 89,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,797,924.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.27, for a total value of $206,350.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,243 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,968.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,072 shares of company stock worth $763,853 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 40.70% of the company’s stock.
Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 1.9% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,783,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,214,000 after buying an additional 51,334 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 4.2% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,516,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,494,000 after buying an additional 100,380 shares during the period. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI raised its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 1.0% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 1,457,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,010,000 after buying an additional 15,090 shares during the period. Sentry Investments Corp. raised its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 0.6% in the first quarter. Sentry Investments Corp. now owns 1,179,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,223,000 after buying an additional 6,500 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 8.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 677,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,695,000 after buying an additional 52,663 shares during the period. 39.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
About Penske Automotive Group
Penske Automotive Group, Inc is an international transportation services company. The Company operates automotive and commercial truck dealerships principally in the United States, Canada and Western Europe, and distributes commercial vehicles, diesel engines, gas engines, power systems, and related parts and services principally in Australia and New Zealand.
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