JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock Price

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price target lowered by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $320.00 to $315.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 9.91% from the company’s previous close.

LAD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $335.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $490.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $358.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $402.10.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD stock traded up $17.46 during trading on Thursday, hitting $286.59. The company had a trading volume of 89,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 313,477. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $333.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $315.12. Lithia Motors has a fifty-two week low of $239.78 and a fifty-two week high of $439.49. The company has a market cap of $6.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.27. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $10.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.70 by $0.64. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The company had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 35.60 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.73, for a total value of $27,804.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $852,679. This trade represents a 3.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth about $76,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 117.9% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $631,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170 shares during the last quarter. Rare Wolf Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 7.9% in the third quarter. Rare Wolf Capital LLC now owns 7,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,269,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 6.1% in the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 777 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.4% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter.

Lithia Motors News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Lithia Motors this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 earnings and revenue exceeded expectations. Adjusted earnings were $10.34 per share versus the $9.70 consensus estimate, while revenue reached approximately $9.95 billion compared with expectations of $9.75 billion. Revenue increased 2.8% year over year, and adjusted EPS rose 9%. Lithia Motors Tops Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Core operating metrics improved. Used retail gross profit per unit increased 11% year over year, aftersales gross margin rose to 59.5% on a same-store basis, and Driveway Finance income jumped 69% to $32.3 million. Record finance originations of $937 million also indicate solid demand for the company’s financing operations. Lithia Three Key Takeaways
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns increased. Lithia repurchased $85 million of stock during the quarter and announced a 7.1% dividend increase, raising the quarterly payout to $0.75 per share, or $3.00 annualized. Lithia Third Quarter Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Management’s earnings call provides additional detail on sales trends, financing, margins, and the company’s outlook for investors. Lithia Motors Q3 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Technical and balance-sheet concerns remain. LAD trades below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while its debt-to-equity ratio is 1.46 and quick ratio is 0.21. These factors may limit the market’s reaction to the earnings beat despite the improved results.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc is an automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Operating under the Lithia & Driveway name, the company sells new and used vehicles through a network of franchised dealerships and digital retail channels. Its dealerships represent a broad range of domestic, Asian and European automotive brands.

In addition to vehicle sales, Lithia provides related services including vehicle financing and insurance products, parts and maintenance, collision repair, and other after-sales support.