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

StockNews.com lowered shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

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

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $300.82 on Tuesday. Lithia Motors has a 52-week low of $205.97 and a 52-week high of $331.96. The stock has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.29, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $294.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $286.62.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $8.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.11 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.95 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 3.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.05 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 35.27 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 9th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.51%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 135 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.84, for a total value 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAD. FourThought Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Lithia Motors by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its position in Lithia Motors by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Lithia Motors by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. State of Wyoming raised its position in Lithia Motors by 35.2% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Lithia Motors by 32.0% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period.

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.