Insider Selling: Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Director Sells $27,000.00 in Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 1,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $651,600. This represents a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Lithia Motors stock opened at $343.98 on Thursday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $262.10 and a 52-week high of $405.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.96, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $313.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $320.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.97. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 13.42%. The firm had revenue of $9.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.37%.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LAD. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Lithia Motors by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 119,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,068,000 after purchasing an additional 5,005 shares in the last quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth approximately $578,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 6.8% in the second quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 17,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,885,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Lithia Motors in the first quarter worth approximately $32,824,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Lithia Motors in the first quarter worth approximately $7,046,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Lithia Motors from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $399.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $389.10.

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.