Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $361.24 and last traded at $358.0240, with a volume of 422131 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $345.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on LAD shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $380.33.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 3.6%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $303.79 and a 200-day moving average of $294.02. The company has a market capitalization of $8.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.The business had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 760 shares in the company, valued at $213,233.20. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $513,780.84. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 782 shares of company stock valued at $229,572 over the last quarter. 1.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAD. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 842 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 4,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 32.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter.

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.