Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $402.60.

A number of equities analysts have commented on LAD shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $335.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $415.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $455.00 to $409.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $292.87 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $337.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $314.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.27. Lithia Motors has a 12-month low of $239.78 and a 12-month high of $439.49.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.73 by $1.30. The company had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.64 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 1.88%. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $10.24 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 35.60 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.73, for a total transaction of $27,804.75. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $852,679. This trade represents a 3.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Abel Hall LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 6.1% in the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 3.4% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $649,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth about $230,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 145.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 424 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 76.7% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter.

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.