Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock Rating Upgraded by Morgan Stanley

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) was upgraded by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $310.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $225.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential downside of 1.63% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on LAD. Guggenheim upgraded Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $338.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $334.00.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $315.14 on Wednesday. Lithia Motors has a 52 week low of $231.36 and a 52 week high of $331.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a PE ratio of 9.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.64. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $283.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $271.86.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.09 by $0.78. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The business had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $10.91 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 28.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,417,080.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $13,417,080.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,021 shares of company stock worth $6,534,617. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 80.2% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth $80,000.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

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.