Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Given “Buy” Rating at Benchmark

Benchmark reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $400.00 target price on the stock.

LAD has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $360.65 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15, a PEG ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $362.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $337.33. Lithia Motors has a 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $405.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. The trade was a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total value of $126,054.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $645,786.90. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,470 shares of company stock valued at $3,370,439. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter.

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.