Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target Raised to $346.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price target raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $343.00 to $346.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

LAD has been the topic of several other reports. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $361.73.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of LAD stock opened at $360.62 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18. Lithia Motors has a 52-week low of $243.00 and a 52-week high of $405.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $369.18 and its 200-day moving average is $318.45.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 29.42 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total value of $2,855,989.20. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 32,054 shares in the company, valued at $10,744,821.34. This trade represents a 21.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total transaction of $92,652.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $661,964.94. This trade represents a 12.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 47,290 shares of company stock worth $17,959,596 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LAD. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 14.7% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,390,000 after purchasing an additional 217,867 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 25.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,621,000 after purchasing an additional 203,543 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth $46,505,000. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,960.2% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 126,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,311,000 after purchasing an additional 120,749 shares during the period. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 5,233.4% during the third quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 107,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,187,000 after buying an additional 105,611 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. Its Financing Operations segment provides financing to customers buying and leasing retail vehicles.