JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target to $350.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its target price trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $355.00 to $350.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

LAD has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $410.00 to $390.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Evercore increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $399.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $389.90.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:LAD opened at $301.64 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $333.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $320.99. Lithia Motors has a 12-month low of $262.10 and a 12-month high of $388.36. The firm has a market cap of $7.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 1.20.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $6.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.09 by ($1.35). Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 12.76%. The firm had revenue of $9.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.79 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 6.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $27,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,810 shares in the company, valued at $651,600. This trade represents a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. AGP Franklin LLC raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. AGP Franklin LLC now owns 10,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,305,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,434,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Lithia Motors by 2.4% during the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $503,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company’s core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.