Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $367.2222.

A number of brokerages have commented on LAD. Bank of America lowered their target price on Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $276.79 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $267.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $298.91. Lithia Motors has a 52 week low of $239.78 and a 52 week high of $360.55. The stock has a market cap of $6.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.72, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.28.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 34.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 8.01%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total value of $72,186.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $543,905.44. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors in the first quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 72,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,373 shares during the last quarter. Talon Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 1st quarter valued at $572,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 28,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,077,000 after buying an additional 4,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 86,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,604,000 after buying an additional 1,414 shares during the period.

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.