Credit: Shutterstock photoPenske Automotive Group, Inc.PAG recorded adjusted earnings of $1.01 per share in fourth-quarter fiscal 2017 compared with 91 cents a year ago. The bottom line also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1. Including tax benefits, the earnings came in at $3.85.
Net income from continuing operations skyrocketed 300% to $330 million in the reported quarter from $82.6 million a year ago. Excluding tax benefits, the adjusted income from continuing operations was $86.6 million in comparison to $77.4 billion in the prior-year quarter.
Revenues rose 10.4% year over year to $5.4 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.24 billion. In comparison to fourth-quarter fiscal 2016, same-store retail unit sales declined 2.7% to 106,522 units while retail unit sales went up 7% to 119,935. The rise in revenues is driven by solid U.S. retail automotive operations and a robust commercial truck business.
Penske Automotive Group, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Penske Automotive Group, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Penske Automotive Group, Inc. Quote
Gross profit increased 11.1% to $808.3 million from $727.3 million in fourth-quarter fiscal 2016. Operating income grew 9.4% to $137 million from $125.2 million in the year-earlier quarter.
Fiscal 2017 Results
Penske Automotive reported earnings of $7.14 per share in fiscal 2017, up from $3.99 earned in fiscal 2016. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the metric was $4.31.
Income from continuing operations was $613 million from $347 million a year ago. Consolidated revenues increased to $21.4 billion from $20.1 billion in fiscal 2016. Moreover, the top line exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $21.23 billion.
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 $4.9 billion from the year-ago figure of $4.6 billion.
Revenues from Retail Commercial Trucks increased to $308 million from $218 million in the year-ago period.
Revenues from Commercial Vehicles Australia/Power Systems and Other grew to $148 million from $118 million in the comparable quarter, last year.
Financial Position
Penske Automotive had cash and cash equivalents of $45.7 million as of Dec 31, 2017, up from $24 million as of Dec 31, 2016. Long-term debt was $2.1 billion as of Dec 31, 2017, up from $1.8 billion as of Dec 31, 2016.
Share Repurchase
During fiscal 2017, Penske Automotive repurchased 302,000 shares for $12.7 million at an average price of $41.95 per share. As of Dec 31, 2017, the company had outstanding share repurchase authorization of roughly $200 million.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Penske Automotive carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A few better-ranked stocks in the auto space are Peugeot SA PUGOY , PACCAR Inc. PCAR and Genuine Parts Company GPC , each with a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here .
Peugeot has an expected long-term growth rate of 16.6%. Shares of the company have gained 1.3% in the last 30 days.
PACCAR has an expected long-term growth rate of 10%. The stock has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly earnings being revised 11.3% upward over the last 30 days.
Genuine Parts has an expected long-term growth rate of 7.2%. In the last six months, shares of the company have rallied 17%.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
