Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Given New $346.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price target hoisted by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $343.00 to $346.00 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 objective would indicate a potential downside of 3.33% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on LAD. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $361.73.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:LAD opened at $357.93 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $368.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $318.73. The firm has a market cap of $9.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.67. Lithia Motors has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $405.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.25 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total value of $6,127,965.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,408,369.28. This represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total value of $392,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,085,466.16. This represents a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,290 shares of company stock worth $17,959,596 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 49.3% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter.

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.