Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $357.60.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on LAD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Citigroup increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.2 %

LAD stock opened at $347.95 on Wednesday. Lithia Motors has a 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $405.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The business’s 50 day moving average is $368.36 and its 200-day moving average is $313.32. The firm has a market cap of $9.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88, a P/E/G ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total value of $2,855,989.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares in the company, valued at $10,744,821.34. This trade represents a 21.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 3,313 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total value of $1,258,940.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,269,320. This trade represents a 1.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 47,290 shares of company stock valued at $17,959,596. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $232,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 259,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,560,000 after buying an additional 37,677 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 46.9% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 75,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,136,000 after acquiring an additional 24,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 95,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,585,000 after acquiring an additional 2,261 shares in 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. Its Financing Operations segment provides financing to customers buying and leasing retail vehicles.