End Of A Dividend Growth Era
Penske Automotive Group (PAG) paid its last consecutive quarterly dividend in March 2020 ahead of the COVID-19 related shutdowns that impacted many industries. The company announced on May 13 that it would suspend the dividend to conserve cash and mitigate the impacts of the government-mandated shutdowns. The company also initiated a hiring freeze, deferred $150 million in capex, and furloughed 57% of its worldwide work force, among other actions. Penske has suspended its dividend once before, starting in 2009 with the financial crisis. It took 2.5 years