Bank of America Begins Coverage on Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD)

Investment analysts at Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) in a research note issued on Wednesday. The firm set a “neutral” rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on LAD. Evercore upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on Lithia Motors from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $335.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 research note on Thursday, February 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $382.33.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Lithia Motors stock opened at $267.13 on Wednesday. Lithia Motors has a 1 year low of $262.10 and a 1 year high of $360.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.31 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50 day moving average of $317.29 and a 200-day moving average of $319.79.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $6.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.09 by ($1.35). The business had revenue of $9.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 12.76%. Lithia Motors’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the director directly owned 1,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $651,600. The trade was a 3.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 114.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 1,383.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 89 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at $31,000.

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.