Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Shares Gap Down to $264.49

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $264.49, but opened at $250.00. Lithia Motors shares last traded at $256.39, with a volume of 117,601 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on LAD shares. Evercore ISI started coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $298.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $297.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $334.60.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $285.95 and a 200-day moving average of $284.10. The company has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $8.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.11 by $0.13. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 3.22%. The business had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.05 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.78 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 9th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 5.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 135 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.84, for a total value of $40,208.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,010.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FourThought Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $530,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,054,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,510,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period.

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.