Analysts Set Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Target Price at $368.11

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $368.2222.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LAD. Wall Street Zen cut Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total value of $72,186.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $543,905.44. The trade was a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the sale, the director directly owned 760 shares in the company, valued at $213,233.20. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LAD. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 111.4% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 101.9% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1,311.1% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth $38,000.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

NYSE LAD opened at $311.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.99. Lithia Motors has a 52-week low of $239.78 and a 52-week high of $360.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $290.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $295.00. The stock has a market cap of $7.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.95, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.26.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.66 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 34.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 8.01%.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company’s core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.