UBS Group Upgrades Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) to Hold

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) was upgraded by research analysts at UBS Group to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also commented on PAG. Weiss Ratings lowered Penske Automotive Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays cut their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Penske Automotive Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.63.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Down 0.4%

Penske Automotive Group stock opened at $168.39 on Wednesday. Penske Automotive Group has a 1-year low of $140.12 and a 1-year high of $189.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $11.07 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $158.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.61.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.14. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 15.13% and a net margin of 2.85%.The business had revenue of $7.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group will post 13.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,488 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.02, for a total transaction of $238,109.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 52.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Penske Automotive Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,484,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,914,000 after purchasing an additional 92,794 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Penske Automotive Group by 11.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,447,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,489,000 after buying an additional 154,443 shares in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 14,852.0% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 884,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,237,000 after purchasing an additional 878,496 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 39,232.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 863,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,660,000 after purchasing an additional 861,157 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 6.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 726,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,043,000 after purchasing an additional 44,749 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

About Penske Automotive Group

Penske Automotive Group, Inc (NYSE: PAG), headquartered in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, is an international transportation services company primarily focused on automotive and commercial truck dealerships. The company retails new and pre-owned vehicles across a broad spectrum of brands, while offering parts, maintenance, collision repair and reconditioning services. In addition, Penske provides financing and insurance products through its integrated finance and insurance operations, supporting both retail customers and commercial clients.

Formed in 1990 as United Auto Group and publicly traded since 1999, Penske Automotive Group has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish a network of dealerships and service centers across the United States and Europe.