Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $425.20.

LAD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $306.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $370.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $365.00 to $455.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE LAD opened at $368.16 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $319.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $296.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. Lithia Motors has a 52 week low of $239.78 and a 52 week high of $439.49. The firm has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.22.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.73 by $1.30. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 1.88%.The firm had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $10.24 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 34.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 9.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the sale, the director owned 760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,233.20. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total value of $50,430.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $513,780.84. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 3.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,389,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,074,000 after acquiring an additional 43,087 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 742,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,814,000 after purchasing an additional 186,628 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 612,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,873,000 after purchasing an additional 33,966 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 426,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,654,000 after buying an additional 14,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth approximately $125,214,000.

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.