JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target to $420.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its target price upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $400.00 to $420.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. 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. Benchmark assumed coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $364.78 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $363.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $337.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 1.67. Lithia Motors has a 12-month low of $243.00 and a 12-month high of $405.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. On average, analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 11,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.00, for a total value of $4,534,530.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 181,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,662,930. This trade represents a 6.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total value of $392,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,085,466.16. This represents a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,097 shares of company stock valued at $7,904,969. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LAD. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter.

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.