Analysts Set Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) PT at $389.10

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $392.70.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LAD. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $410.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $399.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $327.00 to $358.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.1%

Lithia Motors stock traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $332.19. The stock had a trading volume of 169,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 199,007. Lithia Motors has a one year low of $262.10 and a one year high of $405.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $325.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $321.46. The company has a market capitalization of $8.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.97. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 13.42%. The business had revenue of $9.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 6.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total transaction of $27,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $651,600. The trade was a 3.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 114.6% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,383.3% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 89 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000.

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.