Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Monday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on LAD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $357.60.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $344.56 on Monday. Lithia Motors has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $405.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $9.18 billion, a PE ratio of 11.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s 50 day moving average is $368.47 and its 200 day moving average is $314.00.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 29.42 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total value of $92,652.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,729 shares in the company, valued at $661,964.94. This represents a 12.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total value of $392,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,085,466.16. This represents a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,290 shares of company stock valued at $17,959,596 over the last 90 days. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in Lithia Motors by 14.7% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,390,000 after purchasing an additional 217,867 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,621,000 after buying an additional 203,543 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 12.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,204,000 after buying an additional 85,579 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 27.5% during the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 365,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,997,000 after buying an additional 78,784 shares during the period. Finally, Tensile Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.4% during the third quarter. Tensile Capital Management LP now owns 261,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,071,000 after acquiring an additional 6,252 shares during the last quarter.

About Lithia Motors

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.