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

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $23,625.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $748,125. The trade was a 3.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE LAD opened at $307.35 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $283.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $298.67. The stock has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a PE ratio of 10.79, a PEG ratio of 0.68 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.28. The firm 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 revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 8.01%.

Lithia Motors announced that its board 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 buy up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LAD. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.11.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 111.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 101.9% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000.

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.