Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

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

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Stephens boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $353.80.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 3.2 %

Lithia Motors stock opened at $370.57 on Tuesday. Lithia Motors has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $388.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $314.21 and a 200-day moving average of $283.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.65 and a beta of 1.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 7.24%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In related news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total value of $2,855,989.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,744,821.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total value of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,744,821.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,235 shares of company stock valued at $9,301,973. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $607,000. Comerica Bank raised its position in Lithia Motors by 89.0% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 29,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,867,000 after purchasing an additional 13,875 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 70,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,774,000 after purchasing an additional 13,126 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 118.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,609,000 after purchasing an additional 87,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 46.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 10,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,650,000 after buying an additional 3,313 shares in the last quarter.

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.