Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings lowered Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $305.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $380.33.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $335.33 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $296.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $293.81. The company has a market capitalization of $7.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Lithia Motors has a 1 year low of $239.78 and a 1 year high of $360.55.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 34.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $513,780.84. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,233.20. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572 in the last 90 days. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 111.4% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 101.9% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,311.1% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000.

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.