JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target to $335.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price objective reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $345.00 to $335.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $340.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $430.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Citigroup upgraded Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $415.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Lithia Motors from $417.00 to $356.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $305.00 to $364.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $382.50.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.1%

LAD opened at $307.42 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $328.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $326.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.18. Lithia Motors has a one year low of $247.01 and a one year high of $405.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.46.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $7.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.77 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.74% and a net margin of 2.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.11 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 6.93%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 337 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.94, for a total transaction of $99,731.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,632 shares in the company, valued at $482,974.08. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.87% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 1,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Red Spruce Capital LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 7,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,662,000 after acquiring an additional 44 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.