Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Lithia Motors has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, with 6 analysts rating it a hold and 6 rating it a buy. The average 1-year target price is about $367.22.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $7.34 versus estimates of $7.06 and revenue of $9.27 billion versus $9.22 billion expected. Revenue also rose 1.0% year over year.
• LAD shares fell 4.8% to open at $261.67, well below the stock’s 52-week high of $360.55. Lithia also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.57 per share from $0.55.

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $367.2222.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research raised Lithia Motors from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Lithia Motors from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total value of $72,186.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $543,905.44. The trade was a 11.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Lithia Motors by 13.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,474 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,487,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 67.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 113,346 shares of the company's stock worth $33,272,000 after buying an additional 45,716 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 16.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 93,170 shares of the company's stock worth $27,349,000 after buying an additional 13,407 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 16.2% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,430 shares of the company's stock worth $821,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the period. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth $651,000.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 4.8%

LAD stock opened at $261.67 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a PE ratio of 9.19, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.28. Lithia Motors has a twelve month low of $239.78 and a twelve month high of $360.55. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $267.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $300.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.Lithia Motors's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 34.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is a boost from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio is 8.01%.

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.

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