Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Director Shauna Mcintyre Sells 165 Shares

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total value of $50,430.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,681 shares in the company, valued at $513,780.84. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Shauna Mcintyre also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, May 11th, Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of Lithia Motors stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total value of $72,186.80.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $312.43 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $279.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $298.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.26. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $239.78 and a 1-year high of $360.55.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

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

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 buy up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LAD. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group began coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.11.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LAD. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,487,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 67.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 113,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,272,000 after buying an additional 45,716 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 16.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 93,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,349,000 after buying an additional 13,407 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 16.2% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $821,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the period. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the second quarter worth $651,000.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

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.