Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) PT Raised to $380.00 at Guggenheim

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price objective boosted by Guggenheim from $350.00 to $380.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Stephens boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $350.80.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.7 %

LAD stock opened at $333.10 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $299.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $275.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Lithia Motors has a 1-year low of $233.88 and a 1-year high of $341.84. The stock has a market cap of $9.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 1.64.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 2.52%. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 28.62 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at $9,754,677.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total value of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,417,080.94. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,754,677.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,541 shares of company stock worth $9,390,606 in the last ninety days. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LAD. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 49,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,397,000 after purchasing an additional 9,818 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 6,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,042,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 39.0% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,434,000 after acquiring an additional 4,133 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.