Morgan Stanley Upgrades Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) to “Overweight”

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) was upgraded by Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $180.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $115.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 11.20% from the company’s previous close.

PAG has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $161.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Penske Automotive Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $175.40.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of PAG stock opened at $161.87 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $10.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $161.71 and a 200-day moving average of $155.73. Penske Automotive Group has a 12-month low of $137.95 and a 12-month high of $179.72.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.22. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 3.05%. The business had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Penske Automotive Group will post 13.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John Barr sold 716 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.71, for a total transaction of $122,228.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 51.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Penske Automotive Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PAG. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 6.2% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 85,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,850,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 30,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,935,000 after buying an additional 4,057 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter worth $1,516,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,742,000. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP lifted its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 321.8% during the 4th quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 26,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,282,000 after acquiring an additional 20,351 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.