Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $353.80.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LAD. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Stephens upped 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,754,677.36. This trade represents a 23.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total value of $6,127,965.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,408,369.28. This represents a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,394 shares of company stock valued at $16,688,879 over the last three months. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LAD. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,390,000 after purchasing an additional 217,867 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 25.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,621,000 after purchasing an additional 203,543 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,960.2% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 126,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,311,000 after buying an additional 120,749 shares during the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 5,233.4% in the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 107,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,187,000 after buying an additional 105,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 118.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,609,000 after buying an additional 87,362 shares in the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD stock opened at $373.74 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $321.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $286.43. Lithia Motors has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $388.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 1.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

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.