Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock Price Up 6.8% – Still a Buy?

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)’s share price shot up 6.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $302.23 and last traded at $300.6690. 36,859 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 306,743 shares. The stock had previously closed at $281.49.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAD has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Benchmark raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Bank of America lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Lithia Motors from $415.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $402.60.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 6.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.58 billion, a PE ratio of 9.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $342.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $313.68.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.73 by $1.30. The firm had revenue of $9.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $10.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 35.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.73, for a total value of $27,804.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $852,679. This represents a 3.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 Trading of Lithia Motors

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LAD. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 68.0% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in 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.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc, doing business as Lithia & Driveway (NYSE:LAD), is an automotive retailer that operates a network of franchised dealerships and other vehicle-sales businesses. The company sells new and used vehicles from a broad range of automobile manufacturers, including domestic, import and luxury brands.

In addition to vehicle sales, Lithia & Driveway provides automotive financing and insurance products, maintenance and repair services, replacement parts, collision services and other related offerings.