Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) Price Target Cut to $140.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) had its price target lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $165.00 to $140.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com raised Penske Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Benchmark assumed coverage on Penske Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.25.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Down 2.4 %

PAG stock opened at $140.99 on Thursday. Penske Automotive Group has a 52 week low of $139.56 and a 52 week high of $180.12. The company has a market cap of $9.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.25 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.40.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.56 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group will post 13.86 EPS for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Penske Automotive Group’s payout ratio is 35.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Barr sold 1,529 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.45, for a total transaction of $237,683.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 51.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Penske Automotive Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 36.9% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 39,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,426,000 after purchasing an additional 10,663 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth about $240,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 176.1% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,166,000 after acquiring an additional 8,504 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Penske Automotive Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $287,000. 77.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.