Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $389.10.

LAD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays started coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $410.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $317.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, October 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $27,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $651,600. This represents a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AGP Franklin LLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. AGP Franklin LLC now owns 10,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,305,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.4% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,434,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.4% during the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $503,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 4.6% during the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 842 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $336.51 on Friday. Lithia Motors has a 1 year low of $262.10 and a 1 year high of $405.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $321.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $321.53. The company has a market cap of $8.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.97. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.42% and a net margin of 2.39%.The firm had revenue of $9.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.37%.

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.