Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Receives $353.80 Consensus PT from Analysts

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment 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 updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $353.80.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 3,313 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total value of $1,258,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 192,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,269,320. This represents a 1.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total value of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,417,080.94. The trade was a 20.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,394 shares of company stock worth $16,688,879 over the last three months. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $429,390,000 after buying an additional 217,867 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,621,000 after purchasing an additional 203,543 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 12.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,204,000 after purchasing an additional 85,579 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 7.2% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 727,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,981,000 after purchasing an additional 48,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 27.5% in the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 365,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,997,000 after purchasing an additional 78,784 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $373.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 1.63. 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 has a 1 year low of $243.00 and a 1 year high of $388.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $321.72 and its 200 day moving average is $286.43.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.25 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s 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.