Guggenheim Raises Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target to $418.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its target price upped by Guggenheim from $380.00 to $418.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $357.60.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE LAD opened at $390.86 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $330.58 and its 200-day moving average is $289.40. Lithia Motors has a one year low of $243.00 and a one year high of $391.14. The firm has a market cap of $10.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 1.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. The trade was a 23.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $661,964.94. This represents a 12.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,698 shares of company stock valued at $13,309,244 over the last 90 days. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth about $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $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.