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

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.73, for a total transaction of $27,804.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $852,679. This represents a 3.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.7%

LAD stock opened at $360.61 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $239.78 and a 1-year high of $439.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $360.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $307.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.73 by $1.30. The business had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.64 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $10.24 EPS. Research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 36 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.29%.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 32.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Crumly & Associates Inc. raised its position in Lithia Motors by 3.6% in the second quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 1,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 111.4% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on LAD shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $490.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $370.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $436.33.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, operating under the Lithia & Driveway name, is an automotive retail company that sells new and used vehicles through a network of dealerships and digital channels. Its retail operations represent numerous automobile manufacturers and provide customers with vehicle purchasing, financing, leasing and protection products.

The company also operates parts and service departments that provide maintenance, repairs, collision work and replacement parts. Through its Driveway platform, Lithia offers online vehicle shopping, financing, trade-ins and delivery services, extending its automotive retail model beyond traditional dealership locations.

Founded in 1946 in Ashland, Oregon, Lithia Motors has expanded through acquisitions and dealership development.