JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target to $315.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price target raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $280.00 to $315.00 in a research report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

LAD has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim cut shares of Lithia Motors from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $280.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $321.50.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD traded up $0.99 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $284.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 69,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 250,938. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $259.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $273.43. Lithia Motors has a 52-week low of $231.36 and a 52-week high of $331.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $7.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.09 by $0.78. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The company had revenue of $9.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.91 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 27.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.26%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total transaction of $88,632.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at $556,707.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 49,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,397,000 after acquiring an additional 9,818 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 20,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,992 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 132.9% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,758,000 after purchasing an additional 10,920 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 30,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,007,000 after purchasing an additional 3,602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the first quarter valued at approximately $975,000.

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.