StockNews.com Downgrades Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) to Sell

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

LAD has been the topic of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $353.80.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE LAD opened at $350.50 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $305.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $278.46. The stock has a market cap of $9.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 1.63. Lithia Motors has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $351.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced 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. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 28.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,417,080.94. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,417,080.94. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total value of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,744,821.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 31,235 shares of company stock valued at $9,301,973. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth approximately $80,000.

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.