Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)’s stock price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $307.77 and traded as high as $309.92. Lithia Motors shares last traded at $309.62, with a volume of 268,034 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on LAD. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $409.00 to $386.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Barclays reduced their price target on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $490.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $393.80.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.93 billion, a PE ratio of 9.07, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $318.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $307.52.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $10.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.70 by $0.64. The business had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.75 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.05% and a net margin of 2.06%. The business’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.50 EPS. Research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 35.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.73, for a total value of $27,804.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $852,679. This represents a 3.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.7% during the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 3,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $934,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 417.6% in the third quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 5,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,503,000 after buying an additional 4,193 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 55.8% in the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc is an automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Operating under the Lithia & Driveway name, the company sells new and used vehicles through a network of franchised dealerships and digital retail channels. Its dealerships represent a broad range of domestic, Asian and European automotive brands.

In addition to vehicle sales, Lithia provides related services including vehicle financing and insurance products, parts and maintenance, collision repair, and other after-sales support.