Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target Raised to $320.00 at Citigroup

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price objective hoisted by Citigroup from $280.00 to $320.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Lithia Motors from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lithia Motors from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim upgraded Lithia Motors from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $338.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $338.00.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE LAD opened at $317.64 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $285.94 and its 200-day moving average is $272.14. Lithia Motors has a 12-month low of $231.36 and a 12-month high of $331.96.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.09 by $0.78. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The business had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.91 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 28.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 6.26%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $13,417,080.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the business’s 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 owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $13,417,080.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total transaction of $88,632.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,707.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,021 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,617. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LAD. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter valued at about $143,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the second quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 2.2% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 119,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,285,000 after acquiring an additional 2,638 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1.3% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $975,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Lithia Motors by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 8,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,217,000 after purchasing an additional 1,688 shares during the period.

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.