Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on LAD. Bank of America decreased their target price on Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Lithia Motors from $355.00 to $293.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $361.00.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD stock opened at $274.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.22. The business’s 50-day moving average is $268.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $303.17. Lithia Motors has a 1 year low of $239.78 and a 1 year high of $360.55.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $6.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.09 by ($1.35). The company had revenue of $9.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 12.76%. Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $7.79 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 34.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. AGP Franklin LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. AGP Franklin LLC now owns 10,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,305,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,434,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter.

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.