Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target Raised to $418.00 at Guggenheim

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its target price hoisted by Guggenheim from $380.00 to $418.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on LAD. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Stephens upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $357.60.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE LAD opened at $390.86 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $10.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 1.63. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $330.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $289.79. Lithia Motors has a one year low of $243.00 and a one year high of $391.14.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at $9,754,677.36. The trade was a 23.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total value of $92,652.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $661,964.94. The trade was a 12.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,698 shares of company stock valued at $13,309,244 in the last ninety days. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,390,000 after buying an additional 217,867 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Lithia Motors by 25.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,621,000 after acquiring an additional 203,543 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 12.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,204,000 after acquiring an additional 85,579 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 365,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,997,000 after purchasing an additional 78,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tensile Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tensile Capital Management LP now owns 261,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,071,000 after purchasing an additional 6,252 shares in 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.