Brokerages Set Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Price Target at $357.60

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $357.60.

Several research analysts have weighed in on LAD shares. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley raised Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $376.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $348.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $298.93. Lithia Motors has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $405.67. The company has a market cap of $10.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.86, a PEG ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 1.65.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.25 EPS. Research analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares in the company, valued at $10,744,821.34. This represents a 21.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total transaction of $6,127,965.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,408,369.28. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 58,067 shares of company stock valued at $20,933,294. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,390,000 after acquiring an additional 217,867 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,621,000 after buying an additional 203,543 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 1,960.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 126,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,311,000 after buying an additional 120,749 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 5,233.4% during the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 107,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,187,000 after buying an additional 105,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 118.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,609,000 after acquiring an additional 87,362 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.