JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock Price

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $355.00 to $350.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 16.03% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on LAD. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $358.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Evercore lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $399.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $389.90.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.9%

LAD stock opened at $301.64 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. Lithia Motors has a twelve month low of $262.10 and a twelve month high of $388.36. The company has a market cap of $7.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a fifty day moving average of $333.46 and a 200-day moving average of $320.78.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $6.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.09 by ($1.35). The firm had revenue of $9.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 2.18%.Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $27,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $651,600. The trade was a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LAD. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,487,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 45,716 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 16.8% during 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 worth $27,349,000 after acquiring an additional 13,407 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth $223,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

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.