Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) Receives Equal Weight Rating from Stephens

Stephens restated their equal weight rating on shares of Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $165.00 target price on the stock.

Separately, Benchmark started coverage on Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.50.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Down 0.9 %

PAG opened at $168.12 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $161.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 1.20. Penske Automotive Group has a fifty-two week low of $142.32 and a fifty-two week high of $180.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.56 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 18.05% and a net margin of 3.02%. On average, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio is 34.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.03, for a total value of $1,513,320.38. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,917 shares in the company, valued at $5,003,508.51. This represents a 23.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 51.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Penske Automotive Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PAG. Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 10,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,617,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 16,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,704,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. 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.