Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Receives $371.36 Average PT from Brokerages

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $371.36.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Stephens increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 2.3 %

Lithia Motors stock traded down $8.44 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $352.27. The stock had a trading volume of 110,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 394,346. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market cap of $9.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.87, a P/E/G ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 1.67. Lithia Motors has a one year low of $243.00 and a one year high of $405.67. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $362.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $337.33.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. On average, equities analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is currently 7.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lithia Motors news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 6,742 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,696,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 174,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,778,000. This trade represents a 3.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total value 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,470 shares of company stock worth $3,370,439. 1.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LAD. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 152 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during 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.