Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target Raised to $397.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its target price hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $346.00 to $397.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Stephens lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $362.50.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Lithia Motors stock opened at $380.41 on Thursday. Lithia Motors has a 52-week low of $243.00 and a 52-week high of $405.67. The company has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.98, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $363.40 and its 200 day moving average is $335.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 29.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total value of $92,652.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $661,964.94. This represents a 12.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 11,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.00, for a total transaction of $4,534,530.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 181,187 shares in the company, valued at $70,662,930. This trade represents a 6.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,339 shares of company stock valued at $7,997,621 over the last quarter. 1.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Versor Investments LP raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 7.0% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 259,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,560,000 after acquiring an additional 37,677 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth $731,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the third quarter valued at about $248,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 2.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 95,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,261 shares during the last quarter.

About Lithia Motors

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.