Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target Raised to $415.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price target raised by Barclays from $360.00 to $415.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on LAD. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. UBS Group downgraded Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $370.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research raised Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $490.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $436.33.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $371.96 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $337.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $300.59. Lithia Motors has a 1 year low of $239.78 and a 1 year high of $439.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

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

Lithia Motors announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes 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 believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total value of $50,430.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,681 shares in the company, valued at $513,780.84. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director directly owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,233.20. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 537 shares of company stock worth $157,385. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 111.4% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 101.9% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,311.1% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 127 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter.

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.