Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Now Covered by Analysts at Benchmark

Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) in a report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on LAD. Citigroup raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $361.45.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD stock opened at $342.32 on Wednesday. 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. The firm has a market cap of $9.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.68, a P/E/G ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $369.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $315.14.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.25 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total value of $392,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at $4,085,466.16. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total transaction of $92,652.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,729 shares in the company, valued at $661,964.94. This trade represents a 12.28 % decrease in their position. 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 ninety days. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LAD. Versor Investments LP lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 7.0% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 259,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,560,000 after acquiring an additional 37,677 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 22.9% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 70,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,774,000 after acquiring an additional 13,126 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 118.9% in the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,609,000 after purchasing an additional 87,362 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 46.1% in the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 10,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,650,000 after purchasing an additional 3,313 shares in the last quarter.

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.