Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock Price

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD – Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by research analysts at Barclays from $415.00 to $375.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 30.38% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also commented on LAD. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $490.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. UBS Group cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $370.00 to $440.00 in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $455.00 to $409.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $402.60.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $287.62 on Tuesday. Lithia Motors has a 52-week low of $239.78 and a 52-week high of $439.49. The stock has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $351.83 and its 200 day moving average is $312.45. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.73 by $1.30. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 1.88%.The business had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $10.24 EPS. Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 35.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.73, for a total value of $27,804.75. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $852,679. This trade represents a 3.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter valued at $696,482,000. Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth $66,988,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter valued at about $63,015,000. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its position in Lithia Motors by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 742,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,814,000 after buying an additional 186,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at about $42,718,000.

Lithia Motors News Summary

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

  • Positive Sentiment: Barclays lowered its price target from $415 to $375 but maintained an overweight rating, implying roughly 30% potential upside from the reference price. Barclays Cuts Lithia Motors Price Target
  • Positive Sentiment: Lithia & Driveway announced the Rockwall Hyundai deal, providing a potential contribution to dealership operations and growth. The announcement was associated with an initial gain in the stock. Lithia & Driveway Announces Rockwall Hyundai Deal
  • Neutral Sentiment: The company promoted Katie Macaddino to chief people officer, an internal leadership move that may support organizational execution but is unlikely to materially change near-term earnings. Lithia & Driveway Names Katie Macaddino Chief People Officer
  • Neutral Sentiment: A Zacks analysis is evaluating whether LAD is undervalued using earnings estimates, estimate revisions, value, growth, and momentum factors, but the item does not provide a new rating or price target. Is Lithia Motors Stock Undervalued Right Now?
  • Negative Sentiment: UBS cut its price target sharply from $440 to $335 and moved to a neutral rating. Although the new target indicates potential upside, the reduction highlights weaker confidence in Lithia’s near-term valuation.
  • Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan reduced its target from $340 to $320 and retained a neutral rating. The back-to-back target cuts reinforce the cautious analyst tone weighing on the stock.

About Lithia Motors

(Get Free Report)

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.

See Also

Analyst Recommendations for Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD)

Receive News & Ratings for Lithia Motors Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Lithia Motors and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.