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

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $361.20.

LAD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $415.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $328.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $298.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.48. Lithia Motors has a 12 month low of $243.04 and a 12 month high of $405.68. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $298.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $340.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $7.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.77 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.11 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.93%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 337 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.94, for a total transaction of $99,731.78. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $482,974.08. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,049.40. The trade was a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,583 shares of company stock valued at $533,455. 0.87% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 19.8% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 3,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 95,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,261 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth $232,000.

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.