Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $402.60 According to Brokerages

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $402.60.

LAD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Lithia Motors from $358.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $306.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. UBS Group dropped their price target on Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $335.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 2,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $852,679. This trade represents a 3.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 225.5% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD opened at $294.72 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a PE ratio of 9.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $339.09 and a 200-day moving average of $313.86. Lithia Motors has a one year low of $239.78 and a one year high of $439.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.73 by $1.30. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The company had revenue of $9.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $10.24 EPS. Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 35.60 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.29%.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc, doing business as Lithia & Driveway (NYSE:LAD), is an automotive retailer that operates a network of franchised dealerships and other vehicle-sales businesses. The company sells new and used vehicles from a broad range of automobile manufacturers, including domestic, import and luxury brands.

In addition to vehicle sales, Lithia & Driveway provides automotive financing and insurance products, maintenance and repair services, replacement parts, collision services and other related offerings.