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Is Penske Automotive Group (PAG) Outperforming Other Retail-Wholesale Stocks This Year?

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Investors interested in Retail-Wholesale stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Penske Automotive (PAG - Free Report) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Retail-Wholesale peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Penske Automotive is a member of our Retail-Wholesale group, which includes 229 different companies and currently sits at #14 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

The Zacks Rank is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Penske Automotive is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for PAG's full-year earnings has moved 8% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, PAG has gained about 9.8% so far this year. In comparison, Retail-Wholesale companies have returned an average of -18.7%. This means that Penske Automotive is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Retail-Wholesale stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Potbelly (PBPB - Free Report) . The stock has returned 7% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Potbelly's current year EPS has increased 100% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Penske Automotive is a member of the Automotive - Retail and Whole Sales industry, which includes 10 individual companies and currently sits at #60 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 0.7% so far this year, so PAG is performing better in this area.

In contrast, Potbelly falls under the Retail - Restaurants industry. Currently, this industry has 43 stocks and is ranked #174. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -11.8%.

Going forward, investors interested in Retail-Wholesale stocks should continue to pay close attention to Penske Automotive and Potbelly as they could maintain their solid performance.


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