Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on LAD. Barclays decreased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Benchmark upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Zacks Research raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $370.00 to $440.00 in a report on Thursday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $423.70.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $378.07 on Friday. Lithia Motors has a one year low of $239.78 and a one year high of $439.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $8.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $315.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $296.06.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.73 by $1.30. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The company had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $10.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 34.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 7.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the transaction, the director owned 760 shares in the company, valued at $213,233.20. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total value of $50,430.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $513,780.84. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 782 shares of company stock valued at $229,572. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 111.4% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 101.9% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Lithia Motors by 1,311.1% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 127 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000.

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.