Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Director Congdon Stacy Loretz Sells 75 Shares

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total transaction of $27,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $651,600. The trade was a 3.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $346.59 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $312.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $320.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $262.10 and a twelve month high of $405.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.03, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.18.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.97. The firm had revenue of $9.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.38 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.42% and a net margin of 2.39%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.21 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $750.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 6.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $399.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $389.10.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Lithia Motors by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 119,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,068,000 after purchasing an additional 5,005 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 17,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,885,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109 shares during the last quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth about $578,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the 1st quarter valued at $32,824,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the first quarter worth about $7,046,000.

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.