Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target Raised to $365.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its target price hoisted by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $326.00 to $365.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 25.76% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also commented on LAD. Wall Street Zen lowered Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Bank of America decreased their price target on Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $366.67.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAD traded up $0.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $290.25. 271,183 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 319,276. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $267.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $302.67. The company has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a PE ratio of 10.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Lithia Motors has a 12-month low of $239.78 and a 12-month high of $360.55.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $7.66 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 34.68 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAD. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,487,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 67.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 113,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,272,000 after buying an additional 45,716 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 93,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,349,000 after buying an additional 13,407 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $821,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth about $651,000.

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.