Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) Lifted to “Overweight” at Morgan Stanley

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) was upgraded by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $180.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $115.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 11.91% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on PAG. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Stephens began coverage on Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $161.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Penske Automotive Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.40.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of PAG stock opened at $160.85 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $161.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.65. Penske Automotive Group has a 1-year low of $137.95 and a 1-year high of $179.72. The company has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.22. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 3.05%. The business had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group will post 13.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Penske Automotive Group

In other Penske Automotive Group news, Director John Barr sold 716 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.71, for a total transaction of $122,228.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 51.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Penske Automotive Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the 4th quarter valued at $30,844,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,027,000 after acquiring an additional 2,203 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 35,100.0% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 1,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $773,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

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.