Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $353.80.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LAD shares. Bank of America increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the transaction, the director now owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $13,417,080.94. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,417,080.94. The trade was 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 31,235 shares of company stock worth $9,301,973. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LAD. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,390,000 after buying an additional 217,867 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted 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 worth $256,621,000 after purchasing an additional 203,543 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 727,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,981,000 after buying an additional 48,938 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 27.5% during the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 365,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,997,000 after buying an additional 78,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 260,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,756,000 after buying an additional 5,390 shares in the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $382.84 on Tuesday. Lithia Motors has a 1 year low of $243.00 and a 1 year high of $388.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $312.61 and a 200 day moving average of $282.34. The stock has a market cap of $10.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 1.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.25 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.24%.

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.