Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target Raised to $415.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price objective increased by stock analysts at Barclays from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 10.99% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on LAD. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group lowered Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $370.00 to $440.00 in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $365.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $436.33.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of Lithia Motors stock traded up $17.37 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $373.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 314,987. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $333.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $299.43. Lithia Motors has a fifty-two week low of $239.78 and a fifty-two week high of $439.49. The firm has a market cap of $8.22 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.73 by $1.30. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The firm had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $10.24 EPS. Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 36 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,233.20. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $513,780.84. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 537 shares of company stock valued at $157,385 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 111.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 101.9% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at about $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.