Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) CEO Bryan B. Deboer Sells 6,742 Shares

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 6,742 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,696,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,778,000. The trade was a 3.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.9 %

Lithia Motors stock traded up $3.38 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $394.24. The stock had a trading volume of 872,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 262,671. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $243.00 and a one year high of $405.67. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $330.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $289.79. The company has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46, a PEG ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.25 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LAD. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,390,000 after buying an additional 217,867 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,621,000 after acquiring an additional 203,543 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,960.2% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 126,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,311,000 after acquiring an additional 120,749 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 5,233.4% during the third quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 107,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,187,000 after purchasing an additional 105,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 118.9% during the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,609,000 after purchasing an additional 87,362 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com lowered Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $357.60.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc operates as an automotive retailer worldwide. It operates in two segments, Vehicle Operations and Financing Operations. The company’s Vehicle Operations segment sells new and used vehicles; provides parts, repair, and maintenance services; vehicle finance; and insurance products. Its Financing Operations segment provides financing to customers buying and leasing retail vehicles.