Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target Lowered to $280.00 at Citigroup

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its target price cut by Citigroup from $320.00 to $280.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Craig Hallum reduced their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $297.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Lithia Motors from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $320.82.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 2.0 %

Lithia Motors stock traded up $5.19 during trading on Thursday, reaching $262.92. The company had a trading volume of 220,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 222,137. Lithia Motors has a 12-month low of $206.69 and a 12-month high of $331.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $284.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $283.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.61, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $6.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.85 by ($1.74). Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 15.59%. The company had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.44 earnings per share. Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 34.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 5.90%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 135 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.84, for a total value of $40,208.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,010.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,823,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $929,679,000 after purchasing an additional 15,962 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 0.3% during the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 678,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,414,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 10.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 492,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,383,000 after purchasing an additional 45,977 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at $123,976,000. Finally, Cadian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at $105,370,000.

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.