Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Given New $365.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LADFree Report) had its price objective boosted by Citigroup from $326.00 to $365.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Barclays cut their target price on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $366.67.

View Our Latest Research Report on LAD

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of Lithia Motors stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $290.25. 401,350 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 309,088. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.19, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.28. Lithia Motors has a 52 week low of $239.78 and a 52 week high of $360.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $267.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $302.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LADGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.66 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 34.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 6.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAD. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,487,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 67.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 113,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,272,000 after purchasing an additional 45,716 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 16.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 93,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,349,000 after buying an additional 13,407 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 16.2% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $821,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the period. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at about $651,000.

About Lithia Motors

(Get Free Report)

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company’s core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.

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Analyst Recommendations for Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD)

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