Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Trading Down 4.4% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) traded down 4.4% during trading on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $420.00 to $360.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Lithia Motors traded as low as $292.00 and last traded at $293.70. 42,312 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 295,493 shares. The stock had previously closed at $307.37.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on LAD. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lithia Motors news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,049.40. This represents a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total value of $126,054.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at $645,786.90. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,246 shares of company stock valued at $433,724. 0.87% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.60 billion, a PE ratio of 9.74, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $340.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $342.19.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share (EPS) 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, equities analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.14%.

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.