Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock Price

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price objective decreased by equities researchers at Barclays from $370.00 to $360.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 12.78% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on LAD. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a 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. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $305.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $380.33.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $319.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Lithia Motors has a 52-week low of $239.78 and a 52-week high of $360.55. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $293.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $293.97.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 34.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $543,905.44. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, 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 worth $229,572 over the last three months. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position in Lithia Motors by 111.4% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 101.9% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1,311.1% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 127 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth $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.