Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 543,587 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 52% from the previous session’s volume of 356,914 shares.The stock last traded at $343.54 and had previously closed at $345.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LAD. Stephens raised 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. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $343.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Lithia Motors from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.40.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

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 firm has a market cap of $9.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $365.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $322.84.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total value of $92,652.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $661,964.94. This trade represents a 12.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total value of $6,127,965.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,408,369.28. The trade was a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,770 shares of company stock worth $15,103,607 over the last three months. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $975,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% during 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. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in 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.