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

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

LAD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. 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 report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley raised Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.60.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 1.2 %

LAD stock opened at $386.16 on Friday. Lithia Motors has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $405.67. The business’s 50-day moving average is $336.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $292.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18, a P/E/G ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 1.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total value of $92,652.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $661,964.94. The trade was a 12.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This represents a 23.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 58,067 shares of company stock worth $20,933,294 in the last ninety days. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 5.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,580,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.6% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 15,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,537,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Comerica Bank lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 89.0% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 29,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,867,000 after purchasing an additional 13,875 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 12.2% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 93,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,469,000 after purchasing an additional 10,141 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 13.3% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period.

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.