Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) PT Lowered to $297.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price target decreased by stock analysts at Guggenheim from $320.00 to $297.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Guggenheim’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 14.17% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on LAD. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $298.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $334.60.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $260.14 on Wednesday. Lithia Motors has a one year low of $205.97 and a one year high of $331.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.17, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $287.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $284.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $8.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.11 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 3.22%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.05 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 35.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other 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 transaction of $40,208.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,662 shares in the company, valued at $495,010.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,823,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $929,679,000 after acquiring an additional 15,962 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 807,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,459,000 after buying an additional 29,352 shares during the last quarter. MFN Partners Management LP grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 43.0% during the 1st quarter. MFN Partners Management LP now owns 751,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,413,000 after acquiring an additional 225,806 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 678,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,414,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 615,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,081,000 after acquiring an additional 13,723 shares during the period.

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.