Analysts Set Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Price Target at $357.60

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $357.60.

LAD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD stock opened at $380.41 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $353.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $301.76. The firm has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98, a P/E/G ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Lithia Motors has a 12 month low of $243.00 and a 12 month high of $405.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 period last year, the firm posted $9.25 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.24%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total value of $6,127,965.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,924 shares in the company, valued at $80,408,369.28. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,744,821.34. The trade was a 21.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,290 shares of company stock worth $17,959,596 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 83.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $80,000.

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.