StockNews.com Upgrades Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) to “Hold”

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

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Stephens lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $353.80.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $371.06 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $319.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $285.13. The firm has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 1.63. Lithia Motors has a 52-week low of $243.00 and a 52-week high of $388.36. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 7.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total value of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,744,821.34. The trade was a 21.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total value of $6,127,965.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,408,369.28. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,394 shares of company stock worth $16,688,879 in the last three months. 1.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Lithia Motors by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $975,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% during 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. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.6% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 12.8% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 7.0% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period.

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.