Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Given “Buy” Rating at Benchmark

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by investment analysts at Benchmark in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $400.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 14.14% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on LAD. Stephens raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of LAD stock opened at $350.44 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $362.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $337.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81, a PEG ratio of 4.70 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.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. Research analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 6,742 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,696,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 174,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,778,000. This trade represents a 3.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,049.40. The trade was a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,470 shares of company stock worth $3,370,439 in the last three months. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 780 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 863 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

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.