Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday.

LAD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Stephens upped their target price 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.60.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $386.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Lithia Motors has a one year low of $243.00 and a one year high of $405.67. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $340.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $293.82. The stock has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20, a PEG ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 1.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 7.24%.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 10,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,085,466.16. This represents a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total transaction of $6,127,965.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,408,369.28. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,067 shares of company stock valued at $20,933,294 in the last 90 days. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 83.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth $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.