Guggenheim Trims Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Target Price to $297.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its target price cut by research analysts at Guggenheim from $320.00 to $297.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Guggenheim’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 13.84% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $298.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $334.60.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD stock traded up $0.57 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $260.89. The company had a trading volume of 217,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 200,560. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $289.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $284.61. Lithia Motors has a 52-week low of $205.97 and a 52-week high of $331.96. The stock has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.20, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $8.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.11 by $0.13. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 3.22%. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.05 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 35.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 135 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.84, for a total transaction of $40,208.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,010.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LAD. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 5,050.0% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 103 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 509.5% during the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000.

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.