UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock Price

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its target price hoisted by UBS Group from $348.00 to $370.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on LAD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $381.44.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD traded up $2.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $314.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 158,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 279,332. Lithia Motors has a 12-month low of $239.78 and a 12-month high of $360.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $292.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $294.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.04, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.26.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 34.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.01%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total value of $72,186.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $543,905.44. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the transaction, the director owned 760 shares in the company, valued at $213,233.20. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LAD. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,062.8% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 11,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,679,000 after purchasing an additional 10,118 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth about $58,409,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 284,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,490,000 after buying an additional 21,168 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 244,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,295,000 after acquiring an additional 15,832 shares during the period. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,788,000.

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.