Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target Cut to $310.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its target price decreased by Craig Hallum from $350.00 to $310.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Craig Hallum’s price target suggests a potential upside of 20.64% from the stock’s previous close.

LAD has been the topic of several other reports. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $297.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Bank of America raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $326.27.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of LAD traded up $8.62 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $256.96. 385,376 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 216,574. The business has a fifty day moving average of $284.15 and a 200-day moving average of $283.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.07 billion, a PE ratio of 7.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.58. Lithia Motors has a 1-year low of $206.69 and a 1-year high of $331.96.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $6.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.85 by ($1.74). The company had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 3.22%. Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.44 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 34.78 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 135 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.84, for a total transaction of $40,208.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,010.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FourThought Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,150,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,054,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,510,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter.

About Lithia Motors

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.