Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Given New $346.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) had its target price hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $343.00 to $346.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

LAD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Stephens raised 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. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $361.73.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:LAD traded up $7.29 on Wednesday, reaching $362.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 184,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 267,335. Lithia Motors has a 12-month low of $243.00 and a 12-month high of $405.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $369.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $318.14. The firm has a market cap of $9.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the firm earned $9.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 29.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is 7.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total transaction of $92,652.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,729 shares in the company, valued at $661,964.94. This represents a 12.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 transaction 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 approximately $80,408,369.28. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,290 shares of company stock worth $17,959,596 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LAD. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position in Lithia Motors by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company's stock worth $429,390,000 after purchasing an additional 217,867 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Lithia Motors by 25.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company's stock worth $256,621,000 after acquiring an additional 203,543 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth $46,505,000. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,960.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 126,909 shares of the company's stock worth $40,311,000 after purchasing an additional 120,749 shares during the period. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 5,233.4% in the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 107,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,187,000 after purchasing an additional 105,611 shares in the last quarter.

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.