Critical Survey: Penske Automotive Group (PAG) & Its Rivals

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) is one of 285 public companies in the “Specialty Retail” industry, but how does it contrast to its rivals? We will compare Penske Automotive Group to similar businesses based on the strength of its institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, dividends, risk and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Penske Automotive Group and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Penske Automotive Group	2.77%	14.82%	4.69%
Penske Automotive Group Competitors	-3.69%	-13.97%	3.17%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

77.1% of Penske Automotive Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.6% of shares of all “Specialty Retail” companies are owned by institutional investors. 52.9% of Penske Automotive Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 20.5% of shares of all “Specialty Retail” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Penske Automotive Group and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Penske Automotive Group	$31.81 billion	$935.40 million	15.48
Penske Automotive Group Competitors	$7.10 billion	$386.47 million	33.39

Penske Automotive Group has higher revenue and earnings than its rivals. Penske Automotive Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Volatility & Risk

Penske Automotive Group has a beta of 0.92, indicating that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Penske Automotive Group’s rivals have a beta of 1.92, indicating that their average stock price is 92% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Penske Automotive Group pays an annual dividend of $5.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Penske Automotive Group pays out 42.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Specialty Retail” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.0% and pay out 35.6% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Penske Automotive Group has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Penske Automotive Group and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Penske Automotive Group	0	5	5	0	2.50
Penske Automotive Group Competitors	3667	15581	21609	590	2.46

Penske Automotive Group presently has a consensus price target of $211.71, indicating a potential downside of 0.25%. As a group, “Specialty Retail” companies have a potential upside of 4.99%. Given Penske Automotive Group’s rivals higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Penske Automotive Group has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Summary

Penske Automotive Group beats its rivals on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

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. The company is also involved in the sale of new and used motor vehicles, maintenance and repair services, sale and placement of third-party finance and insurance products, third-party extended service and maintenance contracts, replacement and aftermarket automotive products, collision repair services, and wholesale of parts. In addition, it operates a heavy and medium duty truck dealership, which offers Freightliner and Western Star branded trucks, as well as offers a range of used trucks. Further, it imports and distributes Western Star heavy-duty trucks, MAN heavy and medium duty trucks and buses, and Dennis Eagle refuse collection vehicles with associated parts. Additionally, the company distributes diesel and gas engines, and power systems. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.