Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) PT Lowered to $280.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price target lowered by research analysts at Citigroup from $320.00 to $280.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s target price points to a potential upside of 6.58% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on LAD. Craig Hallum reduced their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of 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 assumed coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $320.82.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD opened at $262.72 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $7.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.76, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.58. The company’s 50 day moving average is $283.22 and its 200 day moving average is $283.67. Lithia Motors has a 12-month low of $206.69 and a 12-month high of $331.96.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $6.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.85 by ($1.74). Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 15.59% and a net margin of 2.87%. The business had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $8.44 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 34.78 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 135 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.84, for a total transaction of $40,208.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,010.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.1% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 4,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 35,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,385,000 after acquiring an additional 8,862 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 95.6% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 12,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,736,000 after acquiring an additional 6,181 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 93.2% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 9,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,780,000 after acquiring an additional 4,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at about $4,608,000.

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.