Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock Price

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its target price lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $305.00 to $306.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

LAD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.22.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $307.26 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.26. Lithia Motors has a 52 week low of $239.78 and a 52 week high of $360.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $289.90 and a 200 day moving average of $295.22.

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, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.66 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 34.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 8.01%.

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

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 760 shares in the company, valued at $213,233.20. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total value of $50,430.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $513,780.84. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 782 shares of company stock valued at $229,572. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 111.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth approximately $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.