Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target Cut to $375.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays lowered Lithia Motors’ price target from $415 to $375 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying approximately 27.3% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive: Lithia has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from 12 analysts, with an average price target of $415.10.
• Lithia’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $10.03 versus the $8.73 consensus and revenue of $9.79 billion, up 2.2% year over year.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by investment analysts at Barclays from $415.00 to $375.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Barclays's price objective suggests a potential upside of 27.30% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms also recently commented on LAD. UBS Group downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $370.00 to $440.00 in a report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $358.00 to $310.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $415.10.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $294.57 on Tuesday. Lithia Motors has a 12-month low of $239.78 and a 12-month high of $439.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.27. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $355.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $311.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.73 by $1.30. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 1.88%.The company had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $10.24 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

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

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the second quarter worth $30,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 225.5% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 166 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 68.0% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 173 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc, doing business as Lithia & Driveway NYSE: LAD, is an automotive retailer that operates a network of franchised dealerships and other vehicle-sales businesses. The company sells new and used vehicles from a broad range of automobile manufacturers, including domestic, import and luxury brands.

In addition to vehicle sales, Lithia & Driveway provides automotive financing and insurance products, maintenance and repair services, replacement parts, collision services and other related offerings.

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.