Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Benchmark

Benchmark began coverage on shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) in a research report issued on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark’s price target points to a potential upside of 16.19% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also commented on LAD. Stephens increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $361.45.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

NYSE LAD opened at $344.25 on Wednesday. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $368.53 and its 200 day moving average is $314.67. The company has a market capitalization of $9.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.67. Lithia Motors has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $405.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on 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 owns 207,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,408,369.28. The trade was a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total value of $2,855,989.20. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares in the company, valued at $10,744,821.34. This trade represents a 21.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,290 shares of company stock worth $17,959,596. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,390,000 after acquiring an additional 217,867 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,621,000 after purchasing an additional 203,543 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1,960.2% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 126,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,311,000 after acquiring an additional 120,749 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 5,233.4% in the third quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 107,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,187,000 after purchasing an additional 105,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 118.9% in the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,609,000 after purchasing an additional 87,362 shares in the last quarter.

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.