Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price objective lifted by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $317.00 to $327.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 6.99% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $378.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $383.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $381.00.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE LAD opened at $305.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $321.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $315.39. The company has a market capitalization of $7.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.28. Lithia Motors has a 12 month low of $262.10 and a 12 month high of $405.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.78 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $9.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.56 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 13.21%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 26th that permits the company to repurchase $750.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.05, for a total value of $75,020.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $403,236.80. This trade represents a 15.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LAD. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 50.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 118.1% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 997 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 3,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $923,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,865.4% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 92,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,092,000 after acquiring an additional 87,597 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period.

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.