Morgan Stanley Cuts Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Price Target to $310.00

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its price objective decreased by Morgan Stanley from $358.00 to $310.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

LAD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $370.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $490.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $402.60.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD stock opened at $287.62 on Monday. Lithia Motors has a 1 year low of $239.78 and a 1 year high of $439.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $351.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $312.45. The firm has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.54, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.27.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.73 by $1.30. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 1.88%.The company had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $10.24 earnings per share. Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 35.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.73, for a total transaction of $27,804.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,300 shares in the company, valued at $852,679. This represents a 3.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 46.5% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 186 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 5.3% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $629,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at $241,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 10.9% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 3,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors during the second quarter valued at about $4,811,000.

Key Lithia Motors News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays lowered its price target from $415 to $375 but maintained an overweight rating, implying roughly 30% potential upside from the reference price. Barclays Cuts Lithia Motors Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Lithia & Driveway announced the Rockwall Hyundai deal, providing a potential contribution to dealership operations and growth. The announcement was associated with an initial gain in the stock. Lithia & Driveway Announces Rockwall Hyundai Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: The company promoted Katie Macaddino to chief people officer, an internal leadership move that may support organizational execution but is unlikely to materially change near-term earnings. Lithia & Driveway Names Katie Macaddino Chief People Officer
• Neutral Sentiment: A Zacks analysis is evaluating whether LAD is undervalued using earnings estimates, estimate revisions, value, growth, and momentum factors, but the item does not provide a new rating or price target. Is Lithia Motors Stock Undervalued Right Now?
• Negative Sentiment: UBS cut its price target sharply from $440 to $335 and moved to a neutral rating. Although the new target indicates potential upside, the reduction highlights weaker confidence in Lithia’s near-term valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan reduced its target from $340 to $320 and retained a neutral rating. The back-to-back target cuts reinforce the cautious analyst tone weighing on the stock.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc, doing business as Lithia & Driveway (NYSE:LAD), is an automotive retailer that operates a network of franchised dealerships and other vehicle-sales businesses. The company sells new and used vehicles from a broad range of automobile manufacturers, including domestic, import and luxury brands.

In addition to vehicle sales, Lithia & Driveway provides automotive financing and insurance products, maintenance and repair services, replacement parts, collision services and other related offerings.