Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) had its target price upped by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $306.00 to $395.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential downside of 2.25% from the company’s current price.

LAD has been the subject of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group downgraded Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $370.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lithia Motors from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $408.00.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 5.5%

Shares of LAD stock opened at $404.11 on Thursday. 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 12 month low of $239.78 and a 12 month high of $439.49. The stock has a market cap of $9.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $308.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $294.90.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.73 by $1.30. The firm had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 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 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.24 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 34.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the sale, the director owned 760 shares in the company, valued at $213,233.20. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total transaction of $72,186.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,846 shares in the company, valued at $543,905.44. This trade represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572. 1.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.6% in the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 842 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 4,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,534,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 32.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter.

Key Lithia Motors News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results exceeded expectations. Lithia reported $9.79 billion in revenue, up 2.2% year over year and above the $9.64 billion consensus estimate. Adjusted EPS was $10.03 versus an estimated $8.73, while reported diluted EPS rose 17% to $11.54. Lithia & Driveway Second-Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Operating metrics improved. Used-vehicle retail gross profit per unit increased 20% sequentially, aftersales gross margin reached 59.2%, and adjusted selling, general and administrative expenses improved as a percentage of gross profit. Financing operations also delivered record income of $37 million and record originations of $884 million. Q2 2026 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns were increased. Lithia raised its quarterly dividend 22.8% to $0.70 per share, payable August 21 to shareholders of record August 7, and repurchased $242 million of stock during the quarter. Lithia Dividend and Analyst Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains favorable. Brokerages’ consensus recommendation is “Moderate Buy,” and the earnings report pushed LAD to a record or 52-week high. Lithia Motors Stock Reaches Record High
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation is a potential constraint. One analysis argues LAD could be approximately 15% above fair value following the earnings rally, suggesting investors may already be pricing in much of the improvement. Lithia Motors Fair-Value Analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market conditions remain unfavorable. A sharp oil-price rise tied to U.S.-Iran tensions pressured major equity indexes ahead of the Federal Reserve’s decision, creating a potential headwind for economically sensitive auto-retailing stocks. Market Sell-Off and Oil Surge

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.