Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $357.60.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LAD shares. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Stephens lifted their price objective 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. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 6,742 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,696,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,778,000. This represents a 3.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total transaction of $392,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,085,466.16. This represents a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 58,067 shares of company stock worth $20,933,294. 1.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 raised 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 last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth about $80,000.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $377.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $347.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $297.56. Lithia Motors has a one year low of $243.00 and a one year high of $405.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.90, a PEG ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 1.65.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 7.24%.

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.