Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Thursday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. They set an outperform rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price target on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $297.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $334.60.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE LAD opened at $260.14 on Thursday. Lithia Motors has a 1-year low of $205.97 and a 1-year high of $331.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $7.16 billion, a PE ratio of 7.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.58. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $287.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $284.28.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $8.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.11 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 3.22% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.05 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 35.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Saturday, March 9th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 5.51%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 135 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.84, for a total value of $40,208.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,662 shares in the company, valued at $495,010.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 4.1% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 4,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 33.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 35,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,385,000 after purchasing an additional 8,862 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 95.6% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 12,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,736,000 after purchasing an additional 6,181 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 93.2% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 9,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,780,000 after purchasing an additional 4,541 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth about $4,608,000.

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.