JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target to $400.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its target price decreased by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $405.00 to $400.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 13.85% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley raised Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $343.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.40.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 1.9 %

Lithia Motors stock opened at $351.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.67. Lithia Motors has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $405.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $368.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $319.89.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.25 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 29.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total value of $392,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at $4,085,466.16. This trade represents a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total value of $6,127,965.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,408,369.28. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,290 shares of company stock valued at $17,959,596. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LAD. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $663,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 50.3% in the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 1,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter valued at about $712,000.

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. Its Financing Operations segment provides financing to customers buying and leasing retail vehicles.