Barclays Cuts Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target to $370.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price objective reduced by Barclays from $380.00 to $370.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential upside of 42.30% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Research downgraded Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Lithia Motors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $335.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Lithia Motors from $399.00 to $366.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Lithia Motors from $358.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $381.22.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE LAD traded up $2.45 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $260.02. 115,050 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 314,395. Lithia Motors has a 52-week low of $239.78 and a 52-week high of $360.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 8.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 1.17. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $282.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $307.68.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $6.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.09 by ($1.35). The firm had revenue of $9.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 12.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.79 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth $26,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth $31,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth $31,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 111.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 75.0% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 105 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

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.