Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

21 Jul 2026, 01:54 by Amy Steele · The Cerbat Gem

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD – Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Monday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on LAD. Citigroup upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $305.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research upgraded Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $348.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $380.33.

View Our Latest Analysis on Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of LAD stock opened at $325.37 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Lithia Motors has a 1 year low of $239.78 and a 1 year high of $360.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $296.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $293.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.26.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 34.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,233.20. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total transaction of $72,186.80. Following the sale, the director owned 1,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $543,905.44. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,389,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,074,000 after purchasing an additional 43,087 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its stake 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. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 612,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,873,000 after buying an additional 33,966 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 426,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,654,000 after buying an additional 14,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth $125,214,000.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.