Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

by · The Markets Daily

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD – Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $375.00 to $405.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 9.70% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com cut Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $353.80.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $369.18 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $308.28 and its 200 day moving average is $279.73. The stock has a market cap of $9.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.60 and a beta of 1.63. Lithia Motors has a 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $375.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.25 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 28.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total value of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $13,417,080.94. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total value of $3,472,286.68. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,417,080.94. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,754,677.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,235 shares of company stock valued at $9,301,973. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 14.7% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,390,000 after purchasing an additional 217,867 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 25.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,621,000 after buying an additional 203,543 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 118.9% during the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,609,000 after buying an additional 87,362 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth $26,071,000. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 27.5% during the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 365,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,997,000 after acquiring an additional 78,784 shares in the last quarter.

About Lithia Motors

(Get Free Report)

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.

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