Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target Raised to $475.00

by · The Cerbat Gem

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LADFree Report) had its price target raised by Benchmark from $400.00 to $475.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on LAD. Zacks Research upgraded Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group downgraded Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $370.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $490.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $414.70.

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Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE LAD opened at $386.74 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $313.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $296.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. Lithia Motors has a 1 year low of $239.78 and a 1 year high of $439.49.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LADGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $10.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 34.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the sale, the director owned 1,681 shares in the company, valued at $513,780.84. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,233.20. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572 in the last 90 days. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Crumly & Associates Inc. increased its position in Lithia Motors by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 1,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Red Spruce Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.2% during the second quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 9,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,716,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.7% during the second quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,648,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 32.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Lithia Motors this week:

About Lithia Motors

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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.

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