Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Receives $361.00 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $361.00.

A number of analysts have issued reports on LAD shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $355.00 to $293.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LAD. CoreCap Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 111.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 75.0% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of LAD stock traded down $1.21 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $275.65. 100,130 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 312,833. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.22. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $268.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $302.99. Lithia Motors has a twelve month low of $239.78 and a twelve month high of $360.55.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $6.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.09 by ($1.35). The business had revenue of $9.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 12.76%. Lithia Motors’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.79 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 34.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 6.85%.

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.