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

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $368.1111.

A number of research firms have commented on LAD. Citigroup lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research raised Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays dropped their target price on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 4.2%

LAD stock opened at $304.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $277.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $298.56. Lithia Motors has a one year low of $239.78 and a one year high of $360.55. The stock has a market cap of $6.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.26.

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

Lithia Motors announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 8.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,233.20. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of Lithia Motors 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 sale, the director directly owned 1,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $543,905.44. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 617 shares of company stock valued at $174,966 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 111.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Quarry LP raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000.

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.