Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Monday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $357.60.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE LAD traded down $3.39 during trading on Monday, reaching $344.56. The company had a trading volume of 308,886 shares, compared to its average volume of 233,495. Lithia Motors has a 12-month low of $243.00 and a 12-month high of $405.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The business’s 50-day moving average is $368.47 and its 200 day moving average is $314.00. The stock has a market cap of $9.18 billion, a PE ratio of 11.76, a P/E/G ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total transaction of $92,652.12. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $661,964.94. This trade represents a 12.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total transaction of $392,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,403 shares in the company, 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 sold a total of 47,290 shares of company stock valued at $17,959,596 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 14.7% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,390,000 after purchasing an additional 217,867 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,621,000 after buying an additional 203,543 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 12.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,204,000 after buying an additional 85,579 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 27.5% in the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 365,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,997,000 after buying an additional 78,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tensile Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.4% during the third quarter. Tensile Capital Management LP now owns 261,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,071,000 after acquiring an additional 6,252 shares during 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.