Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirty-eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Twenty-six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $17.22.

Several research firms have commented on LYFT. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Lyft from $17.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Lyft in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $18.00 price objective (down from $23.00) on shares of Lyft in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Lyft from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Lyft from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

Lyft Price Performance

Shares of Lyft stock opened at $13.05 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of 217.42, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 2.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.64 and a 200 day moving average of $13.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Lyft has a 12 month low of $8.93 and a 12 month high of $20.82.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.10). Lyft had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 8.03%. On average, research analysts expect that Lyft will post 0.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lyft declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the ride-sharing company to buy up to 8.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Logan Green sold 10,919 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.25, for a total value of $188,352.75. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 314,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,424,987. This represents a 3.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lyft

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Lyft by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 398,880 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $5,146,000 after purchasing an additional 49,138 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lyft by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,408,466 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $121,369,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302,248 shares during the period. Paragon Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lyft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,681,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Lyft by 354.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 266,185 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock valued at $3,434,000 after purchasing an additional 207,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Lyft by 59.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 382,463 shares of the ride-sharing company’s stock worth $5,006,000 after buying an additional 142,880 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

About Lyft

Lyft, Inc operates a peer-to-peer marketplace for on-demand ridesharing in the United States and Canada. It operates multimodal transportation networks that offer access to various transportation options through the Lyft platform and mobile-based applications. The company's platform provides a ridesharing marketplace, which connects drivers with riders; Express Drive, a car rental program for drivers; and a network of shared bikes and scooters in various cities to address the needs of riders for short trips.