Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Director Richard Bailey, Jr. Sells 297 Shares of Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Richard Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the transaction, the director owned 760 shares in the company, valued at $213,233.20. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 3.5%

Lithia Motors stock opened at $293.02 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $239.78 and a 12-month high of $360.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $269.69 and its 200 day moving average is $298.60. The company has a market capitalization of $6.68 billion, a PE ratio of 10.29, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Lithia Motors announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.01%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Abrams Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 1.9% in the third quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,490,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $787,009,000 after purchasing an additional 45,856 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 3.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,389,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,074,000 after purchasing an additional 43,087 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 742,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,814,000 after purchasing an additional 186,628 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Lithia Motors by 5.9% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 612,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,873,000 after acquiring an additional 33,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 3.6% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 426,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,654,000 after acquiring an additional 14,781 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LAD. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.30.

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.