Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Stock Has Average Target Price of $393.80

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately positive: Six of 12 covering brokerages rate Lithia Motors a buy and six rate it hold; the average 12-month price target is $393.80.
• Recent analyst views are mixed: Jefferies reaffirmed a buy with a $490 target, while Morgan Stanley and UBS lowered their targets to $310 and $305, respectively.
• Quarterly results beat estimates: Lithia reported EPS of $10.34 and revenue of $9.95 billion, above consensus, and raised its quarterly dividend from $0.70 to $0.75 per share.

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $393.80.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LAD shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $490.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $358.00 to $310.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $305.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.73, for a total transaction of $27,804.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $852,679. This represents a 3.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Lithia Motors by 1,311.1% during 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. lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 68.0% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 173 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 32.1% during 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.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE LAD opened at $308.90 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.30. Lithia Motors has a 52-week low of $239.78 and a 52-week high of $439.49. The business's 50-day moving average price is $316.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $307.35.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $10.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.70 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.75 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.06% and a return on equity of 12.05%. Lithia Motors's revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 35.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.06%.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc is an automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Operating under the Lithia & Driveway name, the company sells new and used vehicles through a network of franchised dealerships and digital retail channels. Its dealerships represent a broad range of domestic, Asian and European automotive brands.

In addition to vehicle sales, Lithia provides related services including vehicle financing and insurance products, parts and maintenance, collision repair, and other after-sales support.

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