Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Stock Has Average Price Target of $436.33 According to Analysts

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $431.22.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LAD. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $490.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. 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 note on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $306.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $370.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.7%

Lithia Motors stock opened at $309.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.80 billion, a PE ratio of 10.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 1.00. Lithia Motors has a fifty-two week low of $239.78 and a fifty-two week high of $439.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $360.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $309.69.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.73 by $1.30. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 1.88%.The business had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $10.24 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.29%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.73, for a total transaction of $27,804.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,300 shares in the company, valued at $852,679. The trade was a 3.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 111.4% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,311.1% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 127 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 68.0% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

Lithia Motors, operating under the Lithia & Driveway name, is an automotive retail company that sells new and used vehicles through a network of dealerships and digital channels. Its retail operations represent numerous automobile manufacturers and provide customers with vehicle purchasing, financing, leasing and protection products.

The company also operates parts and service departments that provide maintenance, repairs, collision work and replacement parts. Through its Driveway platform, Lithia offers online vehicle shopping, financing, trade-ins and delivery services, extending its automotive retail model beyond traditional dealership locations.

Founded in 1946 in Ashland, Oregon, Lithia Motors has expanded through acquisitions and dealership development.