Analysts Set Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) PT at $436.33

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $431.2222.

Several equities analysts recently commented on LAD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $306.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $455.00 to $409.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $490.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Benchmark upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.73, for a total value of $27,804.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $852,679. The trade was a 3.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,062.8% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 11,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,679,000 after purchasing an additional 10,118 shares during the period. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $58,409,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 284,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,490,000 after purchasing an additional 21,168 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 570.8% during the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 7,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,844,000 after purchasing an additional 6,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 193.4% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 60,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,219,000 after buying an additional 39,624 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of LAD opened at $310.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.30, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.23. Lithia Motors has a fifty-two week low of $239.78 and a fifty-two week high of $439.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $361.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $309.06.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.73 by $1.30. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 1.88%.The business had revenue of $9.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 9.29%.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, operating under the Lithia & Driveway name, is an automotive retail company that sells new and used vehicles through a network of dealerships and digital channels. Its retail operations represent numerous automobile manufacturers and provide customers with vehicle purchasing, financing, leasing and protection products.

The company also operates parts and service departments that provide maintenance, repairs, collision work and replacement parts. Through its Driveway platform, Lithia offers online vehicle shopping, financing, trade-ins and delivery services, extending its automotive retail model beyond traditional dealership locations.

Founded in 1946 in Ashland, Oregon, Lithia Motors has expanded through acquisitions and dealership development.