Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Upgraded to "Buy" at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $375.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $415.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on LAD. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $397.00 to $308.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $361.20.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Lithia Motors stock traded down $3.39 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $289.49. 170,821 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 311,546. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Lithia Motors has a 12-month low of $243.04 and a 12-month high of $405.68. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $305.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $341.00. The company has a market capitalization of $7.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.75, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.61.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $7.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.77 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. Lithia Motors's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.11 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is 6.93%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In related news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at $645,786.90. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total transaction of $154,864.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,049.40. This trade represents a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,246 shares of company stock valued at $433,724. Insiders own 0.87% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 17.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 259,916 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,560,000 after buying an additional 37,677 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at $91,190,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 208,253 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,436,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 497.7% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,676 shares of the company's stock worth $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 3,061 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 1,073.7% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,770 shares of the company's stock valued at $990,000 after buying an additional 2,534 shares in the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc operates as an automotive retailer worldwide. It operates in two segments, Vehicle Operations and Financing Operations. The company's Vehicle Operations segment sells new and used vehicles; provides parts, repair, and maintenance services; vehicle finance; and insurance products. Its Financing Operations segment provides financing to customers buying and leasing retail vehicles.