Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.30.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $290.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.28. Lithia Motors has a 12 month low of $239.78 and a 12 month high of $360.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $271.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $298.57.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.28. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.66 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 34.26 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,233.20. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total value of $72,186.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $543,905.44. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 617 shares of company stock valued at $174,966 over the last ninety days. 1.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the first quarter worth about $67,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 72,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,193,000 after buying an additional 1,373 shares during the period. Talon Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the first quarter worth about $572,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 17.3% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 28,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,077,000 after buying an additional 4,176 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 1.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 86,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,604,000 after purchasing an additional 1,414 shares during the last quarter.

About Lithia Motors

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.