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

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $365.91.

LAD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 3.6 %

LAD opened at $292.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Lithia Motors has a 12 month low of $243.00 and a 12 month high of $405.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $324.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $342.41. The stock has a market cap of $7.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.87, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.61.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lithia Motors news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. This trade represents a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total value of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,665 shares in the company, 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 three months, insiders have sold 1,246 shares of company stock worth $433,724. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth about $152,752,000. Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $113,250,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 137.8% in the fourth quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 460,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,524,000 after buying an additional 266,715 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $91,190,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,505,000.

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.