Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock Price

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) had its price objective upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $346.00 to $397.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

LAD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Stephens lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Lithia Motors from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Benchmark initiated coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $362.50.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD stock traded down $4.28 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $380.41. 326,267 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 418,502. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $363.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $335.78. Lithia Motors has a one year low of $243.00 and a one year high of $405.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 1.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. Equities research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 29.23 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is 7.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total transaction of $92,652.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $661,964.94. The trade was a 12.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. This trade represents a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,339 shares of company stock valued at $7,997,621. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 152 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring 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.