Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) PT Raised to $380.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price objective upped by Guggenheim from $350.00 to $380.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on LAD. Citigroup lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $350.80.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD stock opened at $333.10 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.19. Lithia Motors has a 52-week low of $233.88 and a 52-week high of $341.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $299.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $275.17.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 2.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.25 EPS. Research analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 28.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 6.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total transaction of $88,632.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at $556,707.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total transaction of $88,632.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at $556,707.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total transaction of $2,855,989.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 32,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,744,821.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,541 shares of company stock valued at $9,390,606 in the last 90 days. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. purchased a new position in Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth $268,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Lithia Motors by 4.5% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $987,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 78.5% in the third quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 2,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $751,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth $248,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth $234,000.

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.