Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Receives $368.11 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $368.1111.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $313.47 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $281.07 and a 200-day moving average of $298.85. The stock has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.26. Lithia Motors has a 52-week low of $239.78 and a 52-week high of $360.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 34.37 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 8.01%.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total value of $72,186.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $543,905.44. The trade was a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,233.20. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 707 shares of company stock valued at $205,947. 1.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 403 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.6% in the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 842 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 4,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,534,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

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.