JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock Price

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price target cut by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $335.00 to $320.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target points to a potential upside of 13.15% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on LAD. Barclays decreased their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $366.00 to $326.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $361.00.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $282.80 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $272.31 and a 200 day moving average of $304.46. The company has a market capitalization of $6.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.80, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.22. Lithia Motors has a 1-year low of $239.78 and a 1-year high of $360.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.26.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its 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). The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at $1,601,000. Abrams Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1.9% in the third quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,490,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $787,009,000 after acquiring an additional 45,856 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 3.0% in the third quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 263,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,158,000 after acquiring an additional 7,558 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at $557,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 6.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 244,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,295,000 after acquiring an additional 15,832 shares in the last quarter.

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.