Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Shares Down 4.4% on Analyst Downgrade

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) shares dropped 4.4% on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $420.00 to $360.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Lithia Motors traded as low as $292.00 and last traded at $293.70. Approximately 42,312 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 295,493 shares. The stock had previously closed at $307.37.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total transaction of $72,128.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,219.48. This represents a 16.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $645,786.90. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,246 shares of company stock worth $433,724 in the last 90 days. 0.87% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LAD. Commerce Bank acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,204,000 after acquiring an additional 85,579 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 15.3% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 2.0% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,844,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 0.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 68,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,742,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 3.8 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $341.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $342.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The company has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.96, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.14%.

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.