Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Lithia Motors’ Q2 2027 earnings at $9.17 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $8.92 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $41.77 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on LAD. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Lithia Motors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $335.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $382.33.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $257.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a PE ratio of 8.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $293.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $312.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 1.17. Lithia Motors has a 52-week low of $239.78 and a 52-week high of $360.55.

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

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 106.7% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 337 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Advisortrust Partners LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth $265,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 87.2% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $781,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 225.5% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arwa LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at $467,000.

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.