Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a moderately bullish outlook: Six of 11 analysts rate Lithia Motors a buy and five recommend holding, with an average 12-month price target of $436.33.
• Lithia’s shares opened at $321.72 after declining 5.2%, despite the company beating quarterly earnings estimates with EPS of $10.03 and revenue of $9.79 billion.
• The company authorized a $500 million share buyback, covering up to 7.9% of outstanding shares, and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.70 from $0.57.

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $436.3333.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Benchmark increased 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lithia Motors from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $370.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 30th.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 2,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $852,679. This trade represents a 3.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position in Lithia Motors by 111.4% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Lithia Motors in the second quarter worth $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,311.1% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 127 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 225.5% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 166 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 5.2%

Shares of LAD opened at $321.72 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.07 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.23. The company's fifty day moving average is $361.88 and its 200 day moving average is $308.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 1.00. Lithia Motors has a fifty-two week low of $239.78 and a fifty-two week high of $439.49.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.73 by $1.30. The business had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.64 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The business's revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $10.24 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

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

About Lithia Motors

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.

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