StockNews.com Downgrades Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) to Sell

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Thursday.

LAD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $357.60.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $382.80 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $326.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $287.84. Lithia Motors has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $388.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $10.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 1.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.25 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders 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 0.55%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total value of $6,127,965.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,408,369.28. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at $9,754,677.36. This trade represents a 23.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,456 shares of company stock valued at $13,216,592 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,390,000 after acquiring an additional 217,867 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 25.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,621,000 after purchasing an additional 203,543 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 12.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,204,000 after purchasing an additional 85,579 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 365,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,997,000 after purchasing an additional 78,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tensile Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tensile Capital Management LP now owns 261,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,071,000 after buying an additional 6,252 shares in 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.