Stephens Raises Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target to $405.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price target increased by Stephens from $360.00 to $405.00 in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on LAD. Bank of America lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $350.80.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $333.10 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $299.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $275.20. Lithia Motors has a 12 month low of $233.88 and a 12 month high of $341.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.25 earnings per share. Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 28.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total value of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 32,054 shares in the company, valued at $10,744,821.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Lithia Motors news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total value of $2,855,989.20. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 32,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,744,821.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total transaction of $88,632.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,707.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,541 shares of company stock valued at $9,390,606. 1.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAD. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 83.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth $80,000.

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.