Brokerages Set Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Price Target at $371.36

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $371.36.

LAD has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total value of $80,676.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,444.40. This represents a 18.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total transaction of $72,128.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,219.48. This trade represents a 16.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,246 shares of company stock valued at $433,724. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LAD. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 14.1% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 776 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth about $26,071,000. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth about $232,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth about $246,000. Finally, Commerce Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth about $204,000.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Lithia Motors stock opened at $306.45 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $345.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $341.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. Lithia Motors has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $405.68. The company has a market capitalization of $8.06 billion, a PE ratio of 10.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69.

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

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.14%.

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.