Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its target price boosted by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $305.00 to $306.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential downside of 0.44% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. UBS Group began coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price target for the company. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.22.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.4%

LAD opened at $307.35 on Monday. Lithia Motors has a fifty-two week low of $239.78 and a fifty-two week high of $360.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.01 billion, a PE ratio of 10.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $289.26 and its 200 day moving average is $295.47.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 34.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,233.20. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total transaction of $72,186.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,846 shares in the company, valued at $543,905.44. The trade was a 11.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 782 shares of company stock valued at $229,572 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAD. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,389,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,074,000 after purchasing an additional 43,087 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 742,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,814,000 after buying an additional 186,628 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.9% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 612,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,873,000 after buying an additional 33,966 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.6% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 426,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,654,000 after buying an additional 14,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $125,214,000.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company’s core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.