Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday morning.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on LAD. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley raised Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Benchmark assumed coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $361.45.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $354.98 on Tuesday. Lithia Motors has a 12-month low of $243.00 and a 12-month high of $405.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $369.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $317.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $9.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.12, a PEG ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 29.42 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total transaction of $2,855,989.20. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares in the company, valued at $10,744,821.34. The trade was a 21.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total transaction of $392,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,085,466.16. This trade represents a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 47,290 shares of company stock worth $17,959,596. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sendero Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,875,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 6,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth $232,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 259,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,560,000 after acquiring an additional 37,677 shares during the period.

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.