Bank of America Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock Price

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price objective lowered by stock analysts at Bank of America from $335.00 to $320.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,MarketScreener reports. Bank of America‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 13.43% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $335.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $355.00 to $293.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Lithia Motors from $366.00 to $326.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $362.67.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD stock opened at $282.10 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market cap of $6.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.78, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $275.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $305.23. Lithia Motors has a 12-month low of $239.78 and a 12-month high of $360.55.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 111.4% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

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.