Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock Price

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price target dropped by research analysts at Barclays from $370.00 to $360.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 12.78% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on LAD. Zacks Research upgraded Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $380.33.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $319.21 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $293.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $293.97. Lithia Motors has a 1 year low of $239.78 and a 1 year high of $360.55. The company has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $7.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 34.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total transaction of $72,186.80. Following the sale, the director owned 1,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $543,905.44. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572. 1.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,487,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 67.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 113,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,272,000 after purchasing an additional 45,716 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 93,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,349,000 after buying an additional 13,407 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $821,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at $651,000.

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.