Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Raised to “Equal Weight” at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $310.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $225.00.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on LAD. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Guggenheim upgraded Lithia Motors from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $338.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Lithia Motors from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $338.00.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of LAD opened at $320.83 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.47, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.64. Lithia Motors has a 52 week low of $231.36 and a 52 week high of $331.96. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $284.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $272.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.09 by $0.78. The business had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.29 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 2.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $10.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 28.78 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total value of $88,632.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,707.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $13,417,080.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total transaction of $88,632.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,707.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,021 shares of company stock worth $6,534,617. 1.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 83.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 80.2% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth about $80,000.

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. Its Financing Operations segment provides financing to customers buying and leasing retail vehicles.