Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Given New $417.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price target upped by stock analysts at Bank of America from $350.00 to $417.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Bank of America‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 37.19% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Zacks Research raised Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $305.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.00.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 2.5%

LAD stock opened at $303.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $6.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $291.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $294.75. Lithia Motors has a 1-year low of $239.78 and a 1-year high of $360.55.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.66 EPS. Analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 34.37 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total value of $72,186.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $543,905.44. The trade was a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the sale, the director directly owned 760 shares in the company, valued at $213,233.20. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 782 shares of company stock valued at $229,572 over the last quarter. 1.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 111.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 101.9% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1,311.1% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000.

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.