Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target Raised to $420.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price target boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $400.00 to $420.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on LAD. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Benchmark assumed coverage on Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 2.7 %

LAD stock opened at $364.78 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $9.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.29, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 1.67. Lithia Motors has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $405.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The business has a fifty day moving average of $363.12 and a 200-day moving average of $337.17.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.14%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,049.40. This represents a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total value of $126,054.50. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,097 shares of company stock valued at $7,904,969 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 780 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 863 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter.

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.