Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Friday after Guggenheim raised their price target on the stock from $380.00 to $418.00. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock. Lithia Motors traded as high as $390.00 and last traded at $388.71, with a volume of 9860 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $382.50.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on LAD. Stephens increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $357.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,744,821.34. This represents a 21.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at $9,754,677.36. This represents a 23.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,456 shares of company stock valued at $13,216,592. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 83.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth $80,000.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $326.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $287.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 1.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion during 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%. Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.25 EPS. Research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.24%.

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.