Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Receives $436.33 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $436.3333.

LAD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $490.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Barclays increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $306.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.73, for a total transaction of $27,804.75. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $852,679. The trade was a 3.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.8% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 32.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Crumly & Associates Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD opened at $315.14 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.23. Lithia Motors has a fifty-two week low of $239.78 and a fifty-two week high of $439.49. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $361.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $308.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.73 by $1.30. The company had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 1.88%.Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $10.24 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 9.29%.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

Lithia Motors, operating under the Lithia & Driveway name, is an automotive retail company that sells new and used vehicles through a network of dealerships and digital channels. Its retail operations represent numerous automobile manufacturers and provide customers with vehicle purchasing, financing, leasing and protection products.

The company also operates parts and service departments that provide maintenance, repairs, collision work and replacement parts. Through its Driveway platform, Lithia offers online vehicle shopping, financing, trade-ins and delivery services, extending its automotive retail model beyond traditional dealership locations.

Founded in 1946 in Ashland, Oregon, Lithia Motors has expanded through acquisitions and dealership development.