Bank of America Boosts Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target to $330.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price objective hoisted by Bank of America from $320.00 to $330.00 in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on LAD. Guggenheim cut shares of Lithia Motors from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Lithia Motors from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and raised their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, June 10th. Craig Hallum reduced their price target on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $280.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $314.45.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

NYSE LAD opened at $249.19 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.36, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $256.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $274.93. Lithia Motors has a 1 year low of $231.36 and a 1 year high of $331.96.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $6.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.85 by ($1.74). Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 15.62% and a net margin of 2.87%. The firm had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 28.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 138 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.42, for a total transaction of $35,109.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $566,847.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth about $242,000. Investment House LLC raised its position in Lithia Motors by 134.7% in the second quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 4,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 2,828 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 66.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 30,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,800,000 after purchasing an additional 12,356 shares during the period. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 15.9% during the 2nd quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 7,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,905,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 83.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter.

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.