Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Receives $365.91 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $365.91.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LAD. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $290.81 on Friday. Lithia Motors has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $405.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market cap of $7.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.80, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.61. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $322.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $342.47.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 predict that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.14%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total transaction of $154,864.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,049.40. The trade was a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total value of $72,128.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,219.48. This trade represents a 16.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,246 shares of company stock worth $433,724 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 780 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in 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 valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Lithia Motors by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 42 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.