Insider Selling: Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Director Sells 165 Shares of Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the sale, the director owned 1,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $513,780.84. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

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 transaction of $72,186.80.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of Lithia Motors stock traded up $7.60 during trading on Thursday, reaching $312.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 276,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 312,165. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $278.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $298.68. The firm has a market cap of $7.13 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.26. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $239.78 and a fifty-two week high of $360.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

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

Lithia Motors declared that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays decreased 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 upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.11.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth approximately $125,214,000. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 742,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,814,000 after buying an additional 186,628 shares during the period. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth about $58,409,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 8,474.0% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 107,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,789,000 after buying an additional 106,434 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 183.6% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 162,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,149,000 after buying an additional 105,478 shares during the period.

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.