Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) Plans Dividend Increase – $1.22 Per Share

Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 13th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of 1.22 per share on Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19.

Penske Automotive Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 32.0% annually over the last three years. Penske Automotive Group has a payout ratio of 34.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Penske Automotive Group to earn $14.38 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 33.9%.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of PAG opened at $163.54 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.92 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 1.20. Penske Automotive Group has a 1 year low of $142.32 and a 1 year high of $180.12.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.17. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 18.05% and a net margin of 3.02%. The business had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.56 billion. On average, analysts predict that Penske Automotive Group will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Benchmark assumed coverage on Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Penske Automotive Group news, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.03, for a total transaction of $1,513,320.38. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,003,508.51. The trade was a 23.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 51.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Penske Automotive Group Company Profile

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.