Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Shares Down 4.4% Following Analyst Downgrade

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)’s share price dropped 4.4% on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $420.00 to $360.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Lithia Motors traded as low as $292.00 and last traded at $293.70. Approximately 42,312 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 295,493 shares. The stock had previously closed at $307.37.

LAD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total value of $80,676.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $362,444.40. This trade represents a 18.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total value of $72,128.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,219.48. This represents a 16.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,246 shares of company stock valued at $433,724. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.97, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $342.65 and a 200 day moving average of $342.43.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 7.14%.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc operates as an automotive retailer worldwide. It operates in two segments, Vehicle Operations and Financing Operations. The company’s Vehicle Operations segment sells new and used vehicles; provides parts, repair, and maintenance services; vehicle finance; and insurance products. Its Financing Operations segment provides financing to customers buying and leasing retail vehicles.