Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Given New $345.00 Price Target at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays cut its Lithia Motors price target to $345 from $375 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying roughly 20.4% upside from the reported $286.55 share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $396.10, despite targets ranging from Morgan Stanley’s $310 to Benchmark’s $475.
• Lithia exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $10.34 in EPS versus a $9.70 consensus estimate and $9.95 billion in revenue, up 2.8% year over year.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by stock analysts at Barclays from $375.00 to $345.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Barclays's price target would indicate a potential upside of 20.40% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on LAD. Bank of America upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered Lithia Motors from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Benchmark increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Lithia Motors from $358.00 to $310.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $396.10.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD opened at $286.55 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $331.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $315.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.21. Lithia Motors has a 1 year low of $239.78 and a 1 year high of $439.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a PE ratio of 9.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.27.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $10.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.70 by $0.64. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.05% and a net margin of 2.06%. The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.50 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 35.60 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.73, for a total value of $27,804.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $852,679. This trade represents a 3.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth about $696,482,000. Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the second quarter worth about $66,988,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth approximately $63,015,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter worth $42,718,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the second quarter worth about $21,371,000.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc is an automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Operating under the Lithia & Driveway name, the company sells new and used vehicles through a network of franchised dealerships and digital retail channels. Its dealerships represent a broad range of domestic, Asian and European automotive brands.

In addition to vehicle sales, Lithia provides related services including vehicle financing and insurance products, parts and maintenance, collision repair, and other after-sales support.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.