Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target Lowered to $366.00 at Citigroup

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price target cut by Citigroup from $399.00 to $366.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Lithia Motors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $335.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Evercore boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $358.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $382.33.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 2.3%

NYSE LAD opened at $267.13 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.31 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $317.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $319.79. Lithia Motors has a one year low of $262.10 and a one year high of $360.55.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $6.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.09 by ($1.35). Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 2.18%.The business had revenue of $9.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.79 earnings per share. Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $27,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $651,600. This trade represents a 3.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 225.5% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Arwa LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at about $467,000. Aristides Capital LLC grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $900,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its position in Lithia Motors by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 742,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,814,000 after buying an additional 186,628 shares during the period. Finally, Dean Capital Management lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 5,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company’s core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.