Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock Price

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price objective lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $346.00 to $397.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on LAD. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Benchmark began coverage on Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Lithia Motors from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.50.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of LAD stock opened at $380.41 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $363.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $335.37. Lithia Motors has a 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $405.67. The company has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. On average, research analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 29.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.24%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 6,742 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $2,696,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,445 shares in the company, valued at $69,778,000. This trade represents a 3.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total value of $92,652.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $661,964.94. The trade was a 12.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,339 shares of company stock valued at $7,997,621 in the last three months. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Comerica Bank grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 36,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,973,000 after purchasing an additional 7,739 shares during the period. AdvisorShares Investments LLC purchased a new position in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at about $465,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 256,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,852,000 after buying an additional 59,525 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 183,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,672,000 after buying an additional 17,876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,910,000.

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.