Citigroup Increases Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target to $320.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its target price upped by Citigroup from $280.00 to $320.00 in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Lithia Motors from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and increased their price target for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $338.00.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:LAD opened at $320.83 on Friday. Lithia Motors has a 12-month low of $231.36 and a 12-month high of $331.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $284.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.90. The firm has a market cap of $8.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.47, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.64.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.09 by $0.78. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The company had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $10.91 EPS. Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 28.78 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was 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 approximately $556,707.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total transaction of $88,632.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,707.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,754,677.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,021 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,617 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 80.2% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the second quarter valued at approximately $80,000.

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.