Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target Lowered to $400.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) had its price objective lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $405.00 to $400.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $343.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Benchmark assumed coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $357.40.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD traded down $6.76 on Friday, hitting $351.33. 301,973 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 230,324. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $368.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $319.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Lithia Motors has a one year low of $243.00 and a one year high of $405.67. The firm has a market cap of $9.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 29.42 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is 7.24%.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total transaction of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 32,054 shares in the company, valued at $10,744,821.34. This represents a 21.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total value of $6,127,965.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares in the company, valued at $80,408,369.28. This represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,290 shares of company stock worth $17,959,596. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAD. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 49.3% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 200 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period.

About Lithia Motors

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.