Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $371.36.

A number of research analysts have commented on LAD shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $306.45 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.06 billion, a PE ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $345.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $342.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Lithia Motors has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $405.68.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total value of $72,128.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $377,219.48. This represents a 16.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $645,786.90. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,246 shares of company stock worth $433,724 over the last ninety days. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Lithia Motors by 17.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 259,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,560,000 after acquiring an additional 37,677 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $91,190,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Lithia Motors by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 208,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,436,000 after acquiring an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Lithia Motors by 497.7% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after acquiring an additional 3,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the third quarter valued at approximately $731,000.

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.