Guggenheim Lowers Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target to $297.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) had its price objective reduced by Guggenheim from $320.00 to $297.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $298.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Stephens reissued an overweight rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. They set an outperform rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $334.60.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE LAD traded up $0.88 on Wednesday, hitting $261.20. The stock had a trading volume of 346,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 202,586. The business's fifty day moving average price is $288.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $284.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Lithia Motors has a 52-week low of $205.97 and a 52-week high of $331.96. The stock has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.58.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $8.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.11 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 3.22% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.05 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 35.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 9th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 135 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.84, for a total value of $40,208.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,662 shares in the company, valued at $495,010.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FourThought Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the company's stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,492 shares of the company's stock worth $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,278 shares of the company's stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 35.2% during the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 196 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 231 shares of the company's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter.

About Lithia Motors

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.