Stephens Reaffirms “Equal Weight” Rating for Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG)

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAGGet Free Report)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating restated by analysts at Stephens in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $140.00 price target on the stock. Stephens’ price objective points to a potential downside of 16.24% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on PAG. Citigroup increased their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Penske Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $167.00.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Penske Automotive Group

Penske Automotive Group Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:PAG opened at $167.14 on Wednesday. Penske Automotive Group has a 1-year low of $134.05 and a 1-year high of $180.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $11.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $158.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.35.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAGGet Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.12. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.02% and a return on equity of 18.05%. The business had revenue of $7.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Penske Automotive Group will post 13.86 EPS for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 14th that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Roger S. Penske sold 77,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.37, for a total transaction of $12,483,099.09. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 140,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,598,577.54. This represents a 35.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shane M. Spradlin sold 3,158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total transaction of $527,701.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,040,999.20. This trade represents a 8.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 82,044 shares of company stock valued at $13,257,948 in the last three months. 51.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Penske Automotive Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 10,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after acquiring an additional 1,777 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 54,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,241,000 after purchasing an additional 2,446 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Penske Automotive Group during the fourth quarter worth $3,018,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in Penske Automotive Group by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 19,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,994,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Penske Automotive Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

See Also

Analyst Recommendations for Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG)

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