Barclays Cuts Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target to $380.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price target cut by Barclays from $390.00 to $380.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on LAD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Lithia Motors from $355.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $399.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $358.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $387.67.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 2.5%

LAD stock opened at $297.52 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. Lithia Motors has a 1 year low of $262.10 and a 1 year high of $365.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $330.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $321.15. The firm has a market cap of $7.21 billion, a PE ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 1.20.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $6.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.09 by ($1.35). Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 2.18%.The business had revenue of $9.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.79 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 6.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total transaction of $27,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $651,600. The trade was a 3.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the second quarter valued at approximately $148,540,000. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth $58,409,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,342,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 8,474.0% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 107,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,789,000 after buying an additional 106,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 183.6% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 162,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,149,000 after acquiring an additional 105,478 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.