Penske Automotive (PAG) will suspend its quarterly dividend in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company last raised its quarterly dividend by 2.4 percent to $0.42 per share in the first quarter of 2020. This marked the 9th consecutive year of dividend increases by the transportation services company. Penske had hiked its dividend in each of the last 35 quarters.

In today's press release the company announces the dividend suspension. The company estimates that the suspension of the dividend will preserve approximately $34 million in cash during the second quarter.  Commenting on the announcement, Chair Roger Penske said, "The decision to suspend the quarterly dividend is consistent with the other measures the company has implemented to mitigate the impact of Covid-19, including a hiring freeze, the deferral of approximately $150 million in capital expenditures, and the furloughing of 57% of its worldwide workforce, among others."

Penske Automotive Group, Inc., headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, is an international transportation services company that operates automotive and commercial truck dealerships principally in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe, and distributes commercial vehicles, diesel engines, gas engines, power systems and related parts and services principally in Australia and New Zealand. Penske became a public company in 1996 and has paid an uninterrupted dividend since 2011. The dividend was halted in 2009 during the financial crisis.