Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Monday morning.

LAD has been the subject of a number of other reports. Bank of America raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $353.80.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of LAD opened at $368.71 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $9.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 1.63. The business’s 50-day moving average is $309.57 and its 200-day moving average is $280.34. Lithia Motors has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $375.15.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 28.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.24%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,417,080.94. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available through this link. Also, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total transaction of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,744,821.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,235 shares of company stock worth $9,301,973 in the last 90 days. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,390,000 after buying an additional 217,867 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,621,000 after purchasing an additional 203,543 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 118.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,609,000 after purchasing an additional 87,362 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,071,000. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 365,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,997,000 after purchasing an additional 78,784 shares during the last quarter.

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.