Citigroup Lowers Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target to $326.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its target price cut by equities researchers at Citigroup from $366.00 to $326.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s price target suggests a potential upside of 22.24% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on LAD. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $358.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $335.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $376.78.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 1.3%

LAD opened at $266.69 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $278.90 and a 200 day moving average of $306.60. The company has a market cap of $6.24 billion, a PE ratio of 8.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.22. Lithia Motors has a 12 month low of $239.78 and a 12 month high of $360.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $6.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.09 by ($1.35). The business had revenue of $9.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 2.18%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.79 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,601,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Lithia Motors by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 263,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,158,000 after purchasing an additional 7,558 shares during the period. Abrams Capital Management L.P. raised its position in Lithia Motors by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,490,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $787,009,000 after purchasing an additional 45,856 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter worth $557,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter worth $548,000.

About Lithia Motors

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.