Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target Raised to $343.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its target price boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $299.00 to $343.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim raised Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $338.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $350.80.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD stock traded down $3.56 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $331.76. 52,740 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 255,700. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $299.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $274.82. Lithia Motors has a one year low of $233.88 and a one year high of $341.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.64.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 28.74 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 6.26%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total value of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $13,417,080.94. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $13,417,080.94. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,021 shares of company stock worth $6,534,617 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 83.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the third quarter valued at $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% during the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the second quarter valued at $80,000.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

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.