Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $353.80.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of Lithia Motors stock traded down $12.42 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $370.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 315,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 259,609. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $314.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $283.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18. Lithia Motors has a one year low of $243.00 and a one year high of $388.36. The stock has a market cap of $9.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.65 and a beta of 1.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.25 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.24%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at $9,754,677.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 32,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,744,821.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 31,235 shares of company stock worth $9,301,973. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 14.7% during the second 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 25.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company's stock worth $256,621,000 after purchasing an additional 203,543 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 7.2% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 727,849 shares of the company's stock worth $218,981,000 after purchasing an additional 48,938 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 27.5% during the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 365,184 shares of the company's stock worth $115,997,000 after purchasing an additional 78,784 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 260,470 shares of the company's stock worth $65,756,000 after purchasing an additional 5,390 shares during the period.

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.