Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

LAD has been the subject of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley raised Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Citigroup upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $353.80.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.9 %

LAD opened at $372.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 1.63. Lithia Motors has a 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $388.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $317.87 and a 200-day moving average of $284.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.25 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 7.24%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total value of $2,855,989.20. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares in the company, valued at $10,744,821.34. The trade was a 21.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total value of $6,127,965.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,408,369.28. This represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,394 shares of company stock worth $16,688,879 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth $607,000. Comerica Bank raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 89.0% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 29,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,867,000 after buying an additional 13,875 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 70,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,774,000 after acquiring an additional 13,126 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 118.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,609,000 after buying an additional 87,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 46.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 10,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,650,000 after buying an additional 3,313 shares in the last quarter.

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.