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

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price target upped by equities researchers at UBS Group from $348.00 to $370.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 15.79% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $305.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $381.44.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of LAD stock traded up $7.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $319.55. The company had a trading volume of 75,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 310,069. Lithia Motors has a fifty-two week low of $239.78 and a fifty-two week high of $360.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company’s fifty day moving average is $291.87 and its 200 day moving average is $294.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.26.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.66 EPS. Research analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 34.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the company’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 sale, the director directly owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,233.20. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total value of $50,430.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $513,780.84. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 782 shares of company stock valued at $229,572 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1,062.8% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 11,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,679,000 after acquiring an additional 10,118 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth about $58,409,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 21,168 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 244,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,295,000 after purchasing an additional 15,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth about $7,788,000.

About Lithia Motors

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.