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Penske Automotive's (PAG) Q1 Earnings & Sales Top Estimates

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Shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (PAG - Free Report) gained more than 4% in a day’s trading following its first-quarter fiscal 2018 earnings release. During the quarter, the company recorded adjusted earnings of $1.25 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.12. Including tax benefits, net earnings came in at $1.26 per share. The company recorded net earnings of 97 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.

Income from continuing operations jumped 28.8% year over year to $107.7 million in the reported quarter from $83.6 million a year ago.

Revenues rose 13.1% year over year to $5.7 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $ 5.2 billion. Same-store retail unit sales jumped 0.4% year over year to 111,240 units and retail unit sales went up 6.4% to 132,490.

While gross profit increased 11.6% to $864.4 million from $774.3 million in the prior-year quarter, operating income grew 17% to $175.7 million from $150.2 million.

Per the company, the record results were driven by outstanding performance across each area of its business, which demonstrates the strength of its diversified transportation services model.

Penske Automotive Group, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Penske Automotive Group, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Penske Automotive Group, Inc. Quote

Segmental Performance

The company operates under three reportable segments namely Retail Automotive, Retail Commercial Trucks and Commercial Vehicles Australia/Power Systems and Other.

Revenues from Retail Automotive rose to $5.3 billion from the year-ago figure of $4.8 billion.

Revenues from Retail Commercial Trucks increased to $292.4 million from $211.7 million in the year-ago quarter.

In the reported quarter, revenues from Commercial Vehicles Australia/Power Systems and Other grew to $158.5 million from $113 million a year ago.

Financial Position

Penske Automotive had cash and cash equivalents of $52.8 million as of Mar 31, 2018, down from $72.2 million as of Mar 31, 2017. Long-term debt was $2.1 billion at the end of fiscal first quarter, up from $2 billion a year ago.

Share Repurchase

During the three months ended Mar 31, 2018, Penske Automotive repurchased 1,133,016 shares for $50 million or at an average price of $44.13 per share. As of Mar 31, 2018, the company had an outstanding share repurchase authorization of roughly $150 million.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Penske Automotive currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the Auto space are Fox Factory Holding Corp. (FOXF - Free Report) , Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (ALSN - Free Report) and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (HMC - Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Fox Factory Holding has an expected long-term growth rate of 10.5%. In the past year, shares of the company have returned 14.2%.

Allison Transmission has an expected long-term growth rate of 10%. In a year, shares of the company have advanced 0.7%.

Honda has an expected long-term growth rate of 4.8%. In a year’s time, shares of the company have returned 19.2%.

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