Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target Raised to $418.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price objective hoisted by equities research analysts at Guggenheim from $380.00 to $418.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Guggenheim’s target price suggests a potential upside of 9.45% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on LAD. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.60.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD traded up $10.76 during trading on Thursday, hitting $381.91. The company had a trading volume of 56,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 259,350. The company has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 1.63. Lithia Motors has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $388.36. The business’s 50-day moving average is $326.09 and its 200 day moving average is $287.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This represents a 23.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total transaction of $6,127,965.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,924 shares in the company, valued at $80,408,369.28. This represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,394 shares of company stock valued at $16,688,879 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.6% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 20,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,084,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 114.4% in the first quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 1,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 95.9% during the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 4,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 2,375 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,580,000 after purchasing an additional 842 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. Its Financing Operations segment provides financing to customers buying and leasing retail vehicles.