Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the ten analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $357.60.

LAD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Guggenheim upped their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:LAD traded up $1.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $377.98. 153,327 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 288,735. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.90, a P/E/G ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 1.65. Lithia Motors has a 52-week low of $243.00 and a 52-week high of $405.67. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $347.18 and its 200-day moving average is $297.56.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion during 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%. Lithia Motors's revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 29.42 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is presently 7.24%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total transaction of $6,127,965.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,408,369.28. This represents a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,754,677.36. The trade was a 23.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,067 shares of company stock valued at $20,933,294 in the last quarter. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 46.9% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 75,984 shares of the company's stock worth $24,136,000 after acquiring an additional 24,258 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 95,899 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,261 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 3,927 shares of the company's stock worth $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth approximately $217,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at approximately $223,000.

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.