Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Has $1.15 Million Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD – Get Rating) by 58.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,354 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,976 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 2,112.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 177 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Charter Oak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth $53,000. Finally, WD Rutherford LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth $59,000. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on LAD shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Tuesday, December 13th. Craig Hallum reduced their price objective on Lithia Motors from $540.00 to $360.00 in a report on Thursday, October 20th. Benchmark reduced their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Lithia Motors from $325.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Lithia Motors from $200.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $301.56.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $240.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a PE ratio of 5.39, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 1.39. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.00 and a 12 month high of $349.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $220.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $235.64.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 19th. The company reported $11.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.91 by ($0.83). The business had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.34 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 4.70%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $11.21 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 45.55 EPS for the current year.

About Lithia Motors

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Lithia Motors, Inc operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Domestic, Import, and Luxury. It offers new and used vehicles; vehicle financing services; warranties, insurance contracts, and vehicle and theft protection services; and automotive repair and maintenance services, as well as sells vehicle body and parts under the Driveway and GreenCars brand names.