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

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

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on LAD. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $361.73.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 1.4 %

LAD stock opened at $357.93 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.22, a PEG ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18. Lithia Motors has a one year low of $243.00 and a one year high of $405.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $368.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $318.73.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 29.42 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total value of $92,652.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,729 shares in the company, valued at $661,964.94. The trade was a 12.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total transaction of $6,127,965.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares in the company, valued at $80,408,369.28. This represents a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 47,290 shares of company stock valued at $17,959,596. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 49.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 48 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.