Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) to Buyback $500.00 million in Stock

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 26th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD traded up $6.45 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $283.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 290,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 320,335. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Lithia Motors has a one year low of $239.78 and a one year high of $360.55. The firm has a market cap of $6.46 billion, a PE ratio of 9.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $268.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $298.58.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 34.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 8.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $367.22.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total transaction of $72,186.80. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.