Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Receives $357.60 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research 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 issued a report on the stock in the last year is $357.60.

A number of brokerages recently commented on LAD. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $347.95 on Wednesday. Lithia Motors has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $405.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $9.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $368.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $313.32.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The business 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 was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 6,742 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $2,696,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 174,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,778,000. The trade was a 3.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total transaction of $392,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,085,466.16. The trade was a 8.77 % 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 valued at $17,959,596 over the last 90 days. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at about $232,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 17.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 259,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,560,000 after purchasing an additional 37,677 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 46.9% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 75,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,136,000 after purchasing an additional 24,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 2.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 95,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,585,000 after buying an additional 2,261 shares in the last quarter.

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.