Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on LAD. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $361.45.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of LAD opened at $349.49 on Tuesday. Lithia Motors has a 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $405.67. The stock has a market cap of $9.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $369.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $316.73.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 29.42 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total transaction of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,744,821.34. This trade represents a 21.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 3,313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total transaction of $1,258,940.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,269,320. This trade represents a 1.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 47,290 shares of company stock worth $17,959,596. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 1.3% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $975,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 2.6% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 12.8% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 459 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter.

About Lithia Motors

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.