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

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $27,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,810 shares in the company, valued at $651,600. This trade represents a 3.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD traded up $2.21 during trading on Monday, hitting $346.59. The stock had a trading volume of 364,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 328,283. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.03, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.21. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $262.10 and a twelve month high of $405.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $311.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $319.77.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.97. The firm had revenue of $9.68 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.21 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS 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 repurchase up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 6.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 10,136,710.0% in the 1st quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 2,027,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,112,000 after buying an additional 2,027,342 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at about $148,540,000. Park West Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the first quarter worth about $58,825,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,840.6% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 181,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,359,000 after purchasing an additional 172,410 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,342,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $399.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $317.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Barclays started coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $410.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $389.10.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

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.