Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Benchmark began coverage on Penske Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Penske Automotive Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.25.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE PAG traded down $1.37 on Monday, hitting $140.43. 445,821 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 192,129. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.20. Penske Automotive Group has a twelve month low of $134.51 and a twelve month high of $180.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $159.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.98.

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

Insider Activity at Penske Automotive Group

In other Penske Automotive Group news, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 28,917 shares in the company, valued at $5,003,508.51. This trade represents a 23.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John Barr sold 1,529 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.45, for a total value of $237,683.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 51.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PAG. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 39,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,426,000 after purchasing an additional 10,663 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Penske Automotive Group during the fourth quarter worth $240,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 28.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth about $287,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the third quarter valued at about $415,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

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.