JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) Stock Price

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) had its price target hoisted by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target points to a potential downside of 0.85% from the company’s previous close.

PAG has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $193.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Penske Automotive Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Stephens increased their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $184.86.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

PAG stock traded up $1.73 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $171.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 186,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 294,684. Penske Automotive Group has a 12 month low of $140.12 and a 12 month high of $189.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $154.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.28.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group will post 13.38 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Penske Automotive Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Penske Automotive Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,154,000. Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Penske Automotive Group in the third quarter worth $1,157,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 21.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 111,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,439,000 after purchasing an additional 19,561 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Penske Automotive Group in the third quarter worth $5,585,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 15.7% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 58,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,223,000 after purchasing an additional 7,978 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.