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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Thursday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on LAD. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $357.60.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 2.2 %

Lithia Motors stock opened at $390.86 on Thursday. Lithia Motors has a 12-month low of $243.00 and a 12-month high of $391.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 1.63. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $330.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $289.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.25 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This trade represents a 23.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were 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 owns 1,729 shares in the company, valued at $661,964.94. This trade represents a 12.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,698 shares of company stock valued at $13,309,244. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1.3% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $975,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in 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.