Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) had its target price upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $375.00 to $405.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

LAD has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com downgraded Lithia Motors from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday. Stephens increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley raised Lithia Motors from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $353.80.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of LAD stock traded up $6.42 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $350.50. 360,017 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 257,379. The business's fifty day moving average is $305.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $278.46. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 1.63. Lithia Motors has a 12-month low of $243.00 and a 12-month high of $351.02.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 28.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was 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 owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was 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 owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total value of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 46,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,417,080.94. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 31,235 shares of company stock worth $9,301,973. 1.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew 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 buying an additional 203,543 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 118.9% in the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,860 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,609,000 after buying an additional 87,362 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $115,997,000 after buying an additional 78,784 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 48,938 shares during 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.