Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on LAD. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. They set an outperform rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $290.00 to $248.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Craig Hallum dropped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $320.82.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 1.9 %

LAD opened at $262.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.23 billion, a PE ratio of 7.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Lithia Motors has a 52 week low of $206.69 and a 52 week high of $331.96. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $283.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $283.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $6.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.85 by ($1.74). Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 15.59%. The company had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.44 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 34.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 135 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.84, for a total value of $40,208.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,010.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FourThought Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,054,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,510,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc operates as an automotive retailer worldwide. It operates in two segments, Vehicle Operations and Financing Operations. The company's Vehicle Operations segment sells new and used vehicles; provides parts, repair, and maintenance services; vehicle finance; and insurance products.