Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Bank of America Analyst Says

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its target price raised by equities research analysts at Bank of America from $430.00 to $500.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Bank of America‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 53.06% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on LAD. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $397.00 to $308.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $415.00 to $375.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $417.00 to $356.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $340.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $379.40.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 1.5%

LAD opened at $326.68 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $307.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $331.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.18. Lithia Motors has a twelve month low of $243.04 and a twelve month high of $405.68. The firm has a market cap of $8.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.30, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.47.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $7.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.77 by ($0.11). Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.74% and a net margin of 2.30%. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 337 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.94, for a total transaction of $99,731.78. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $482,974.08. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at about $91,190,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 208,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,436,000 after acquiring an additional 2,108 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 780 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 497.7% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,314,000 after acquiring an additional 3,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 56.0% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,528 shares of the company’s stock worth $904,000 after acquiring an additional 908 shares during the last quarter.

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. Its Financing Operations segment provides financing to customers buying and leasing retail vehicles.