Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.60.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Lithia Motors stock opened at $387.06 on Friday. Lithia Motors has a 12 month low of $243.00 and a 12 month high of $405.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $338.59 and its 200-day moving average is $292.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.20, a PEG ratio of 6.34 and a beta of 1.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 29.42 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.24%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total value of $392,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,085,466.16. This represents a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,754,677.36. The trade was a 23.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,067 shares of company stock worth $20,933,294. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at $80,000.

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.