Stephens Raises Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target to $405.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price objective raised by Stephens from $360.00 to $405.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $302.00 to $299.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim raised Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $338.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $350.80.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of LAD stock opened at $333.10 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Lithia Motors has a 1-year low of $233.88 and a 1-year high of $341.84. The company has a market cap of $9.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 1.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $299.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $275.17.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The firm 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 13.84% and a net margin of 2.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 28.62 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.26%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total value of $88,632.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,707.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total value of $88,632.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,707.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total transaction 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,541 shares of company stock valued at $9,390,606. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter valued at about $268,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 4.5% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $987,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 2,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter valued at about $248,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at $234,000.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

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.