Analysts Set Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Price Target at $386.00

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $382.3333.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on LAD shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Evercore increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $358.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Lithia Motors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $335.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, February 20th.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $259.89 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $315.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $319.48. Lithia Motors has a 1 year low of $256.98 and a 1 year high of $360.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.26.

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). The company had revenue of $9.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 2.18%.The business’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.79 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 6.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 1,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $651,600. This trade represents a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.87% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,487,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 67.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 113,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,272,000 after acquiring an additional 45,716 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 93,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,349,000 after purchasing an additional 13,407 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 276 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,343,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares during 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.