Wall Street Zen Upgrades Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) to “Hold”

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

LAD has been the topic of several other reports. Benchmark lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group cut Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $370.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $306.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $414.70.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:LAD opened at $386.74 on Friday. Lithia Motors has a one year low of $239.78 and a one year high of $439.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $313.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $295.79.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.73 by $1.30. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The firm had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $10.24 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 34.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $513,780.84. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,233.20. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 782 shares of company stock valued at $229,572 in the last ninety days. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LAD. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth approximately $125,214,000. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 742,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,814,000 after purchasing an additional 186,628 shares during the period. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at $58,409,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 8,474.0% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 107,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,789,000 after buying an additional 106,434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 183.6% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 162,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,149,000 after buying an additional 105,478 shares during the last quarter.

Key Headlines Impacting Lithia Motors

Here are the key news stories impacting Lithia Motors this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lithia reported quarterly EPS of $10.03, exceeding the $8.73 analyst consensus, while revenue of $9.79 billion also topped estimates. Results benefited from stronger used-vehicle margins, aftersales growth and record financing income despite mixed sales trends. LAD Q2 Earnings Beat on Used Margins and Financing Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark raised its LAD price target from $400 to $475 and maintained a “buy” rating, implying substantial upside from the recent trading level. Lithia Motors Price Target Raised to $475 at Benchmark
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo increased its price target from $306 to $395, reflecting improved expectations, although it retained an “equal weight” rating. Lithia Motors Given New Price Target at Wells Fargo
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.70 per share from $0.57, a 22.8% increase, with the next ex-dividend date scheduled for August 7. Lithia Motors Dividend Increase
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks highlighted LAD as a strong momentum stock, while brokerage consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” indicating generally favorable—but not unanimous—analyst sentiment. Why Lithia Motors Is a Strong Momentum Stock
• Negative Sentiment: One post-earnings analysis suggested LAD could be roughly 15% above fair value, raising concerns that the earnings-driven rally may have outpaced the company’s underlying valuation. Lithia Motors Could Be Above Fair Value After Earnings Beat

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.