Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target Raised to $327.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its target price raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $317.00 to $327.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

LAD has been the subject of a number of other reports. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $383.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $381.00.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $310.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $321.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $315.49. Lithia Motors has a 1 year low of $262.10 and a 1 year high of $405.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.78 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $9.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.56 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 13.21%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 26th that allows the company to repurchase $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 6.52%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 256 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.05, for a total value of $75,020.80. Following the sale, the director owned 1,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $403,236.80. The trade was a 15.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Abrams Capital Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.2% in the first quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,444,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,611,000 after purchasing an additional 53,490 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 10,136,710.0% during the first quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 2,027,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,112,000 after acquiring an additional 2,027,342 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,267,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,053,000 after acquiring an additional 72,980 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 612,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,873,000 after acquiring an additional 33,966 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 479,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,022,000 after acquiring an additional 11,859 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.