Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Several other analysts have also commented on LAD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Stephens raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark assumed coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $361.73.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $362.75 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18. Lithia Motors has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $405.67. The firm has a market cap of $9.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.38, a P/E/G ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.67. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $369.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $318.45.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 6,742 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,696,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 174,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,778,000. The trade was a 3.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total transaction of $392,720.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,085,466.16. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,290 shares of company stock worth $17,959,596 over the last 90 days. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 49.3% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at about $80,000.

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.