Benchmark Issues Positive Forecast for Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock Price

Posted by Stanley Muller on Jul 30th, 2026

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD – Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by analysts at Benchmark from $400.00 to $475.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Benchmark’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 17.03% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $370.00 to $440.00 in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $414.70.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on LAD

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD stock traded down $21.59 on Thursday, reaching $405.89. The stock had a trading volume of 552,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 320,070. 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 $9.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $308.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $294.90. 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 (NYSE:LAD – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.73 by $1.30. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.The firm had revenue of $9.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $10.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 34.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $513,780.84. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 760 shares in the company, valued at $213,233.20. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 782 shares of company stock valued at $229,572. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 1,062.8% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 11,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,679,000 after purchasing an additional 10,118 shares during the period. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,409,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 284,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,490,000 after acquiring an additional 21,168 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 140.7% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 11,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,787,000 after acquiring an additional 6,661 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at $1,676,000.

More Lithia Motors News

Here are the key news stories impacting Lithia Motors this week:

Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results exceeded expectations. Lithia reported $9.8 billion in record revenue, up 2.2% year over year, while adjusted earnings per share reached $10.03 versus the $8.67–$8.73 consensus range. Results were helped by stronger used-vehicle margins, aftersales growth and record financing income. LAD Q2 Earnings Beat on Used Margins and Financing Growth
Positive Sentiment: Profitability metrics improved. Used retail gross profit per unit increased 20% sequentially to $339 higher, aftersales gross margin expanded to 59.2%, and adjusted selling, general and administrative costs improved as a percentage of gross profit. Financing operations generated a record $37 million of income on $884 million of originations. Lithia & Driveway Second-Quarter Results
Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns were increased. Lithia raised its quarterly dividend 22.8% to $0.70 per share and repurchased $242 million of stock during the quarter, equal to 3.7% of shares outstanding. These actions likely reinforced investor enthusiasm and contributed to the stock reaching a record high. Lithia Motors Shares Rally on Record Revenue and Dividend Hike
Neutral Sentiment: Brokerages collectively maintain a “Moderate Buy” recommendation, indicating generally favorable sentiment but not an overwhelming consensus. Consensus Recommendation
Negative Sentiment: Valuation and analyst caution are potential headwinds. Wells Fargo raised its price target to $395 but retained an “equal weight” rating, implying limited upside at recent levels. A separate analysis suggested LAD could be approximately 15% above fair value following the earnings-driven rally. Wells Fargo Price Target Update Lithia Motors Fair Value Analysis

About Lithia Motors

(Get Free Report)

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.