Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target Raised to $340.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its target price increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $325.00 to $340.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

LAD has been the subject of several other reports. Zacks Research raised Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Benchmark raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $306.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $370.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $425.20.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of LAD opened at $375.62 on Tuesday. Lithia Motors has a twelve month low of $239.78 and a twelve month high of $439.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.46, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $320.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $296.88.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.73 by $1.30. The company had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.24 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 34.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 7.56%.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the sale, the director owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,233.20. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total value of $72,186.80. Following the sale, the director owned 1,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $543,905.44. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 782 shares of company stock valued at $229,572 in the last three months. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LAD. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at approximately $108,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth approximately $63,015,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth approximately $536,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. Finally, Crumly & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 1,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period.

About Lithia Motors

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.