Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $371.36.

Several brokerages have commented on LAD. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

NYSE LAD opened at $347.65 on Thursday. Lithia Motors has a 1 year low of $243.00 and a 1 year high of $405.67. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $361.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $339.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $9.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 7.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,085,466.16. This trade represents a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $645,786.90. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,728 shares of company stock worth $673,639. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Peak Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $874,000. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth $271,000. Castleark Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 78.5% during the fourth quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 15,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,469,000 after purchasing an additional 6,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 79,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,510,000 after purchasing an additional 11,315 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.