Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target Raised to $397.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price objective increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $346.00 to $397.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Stephens boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Lithia Motors from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Benchmark started coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $362.50.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $385.10 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 1.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $363.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $334.08. Lithia Motors has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $405.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. On average, research analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 29.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.24%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In related news, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total value of $392,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,085,466.16. This represents a 8.77 % 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, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total value of $92,652.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $661,964.94. The trade was a 12.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,611 shares of company stock worth $7,716,702 over the last three months. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period.

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.