Brokerages Set Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Target Price at $368.11

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $368.1111.

LAD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the sale, the director owned 1,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $513,780.84. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the transaction, the director owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,233.20. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572 in the last 90 days. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1,062.8% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 11,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,679,000 after buying an additional 10,118 shares during the period. Abrams Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 1.9% during the third quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,490,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $787,009,000 after buying an additional 45,856 shares during the period. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth about $58,409,000. Tabor Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,722,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 142,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,959,000 after acquiring an additional 16,226 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD traded down $5.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $302.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 22,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 308,109. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Lithia Motors has a 52 week low of $239.78 and a 52 week high of $360.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $283.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $298.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a PE ratio of 10.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.26.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.The company had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.66 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 34.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.01%.

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.