Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $389.10.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LAD. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $317.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $399.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of LAD opened at $344.10 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s 50-day moving average is $315.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $320.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.21. Lithia Motors has a fifty-two week low of $262.10 and a fifty-two week high of $405.14.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.97. The company had revenue of $9.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.38 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.42% and a net margin of 2.39%.Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.21 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 6.37%.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 26th that permits the company to repurchase $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $27,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $651,600. This represents a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 95.1% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,319,000 after acquiring an additional 3,851 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 30.3% in the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 1,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 119,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,068,000 after purchasing an additional 5,005 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 1st quarter valued at about $207,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 41,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,119,000 after buying an additional 4,061 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

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.