Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Monday.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on LAD. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley raised Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $353.80.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $369.18 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $308.28 and a 200 day moving average of $279.73. Lithia Motors has a 12 month low of $243.00 and a 12 month high of $375.08. 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 firm has a market cap of $9.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60 and a beta of 1.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 28.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at $9,754,677.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,417,080.94. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,235 shares of company stock worth $9,301,973. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its stake in 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 increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,621,000 after buying an additional 203,543 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 727,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,981,000 after buying an additional 48,938 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 365,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,997,000 after buying an additional 78,784 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 260,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,756,000 after buying an additional 5,390 shares during the period.

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.