Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

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

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on LAD. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $380.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $298.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued an outperform rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $336.40.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $300.82 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $294.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $286.62. The stock has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a PE ratio of 8.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 1.41. Lithia Motors has a one year low of $205.97 and a one year high of $331.96.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $8.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.11 by $0.13. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 3.22%. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.05 EPS. Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 35.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 9th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 135 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.84, for a total transaction of $40,208.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,010.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mariner LLC grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 4.1% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 4,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 33.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 35,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,385,000 after purchasing an additional 8,862 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 95.6% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 12,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,736,000 after purchasing an additional 6,181 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 93.2% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 9,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,780,000 after purchasing an additional 4,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,608,000.

About Lithia Motors

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.