Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Given New $440.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price objective boosted by Evercore ISI from $400.00 to $440.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

LAD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Lithia Motors from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Stephens increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Guggenheim raised 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. Finally, Benchmark started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $369.55.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $374.88 on Tuesday. Lithia Motors has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $405.67. The company has a market cap of $9.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.79, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $363.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $336.38.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. Analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 29.23 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.24%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In related news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total transaction of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,049.40. This trade represents a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $661,964.94. This represents a 12.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,339 shares of company stock worth $7,997,621 over the last three months. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth about $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period.

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.