Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) CEO Bryan B. Deboer Sells 3,313 Shares

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 3,313 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total transaction of $1,258,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,269,320. The trade was a 1.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD traded down $3.53 on Thursday, hitting $372.58. 288,709 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 260,661. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.00 and a 12 month high of $388.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $316.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $283.75.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.25 EPS. Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $353.80.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the second quarter valued at approximately $607,000. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 89.0% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 29,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,867,000 after acquiring an additional 13,875 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 22.9% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 70,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,774,000 after acquiring an additional 13,126 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Lithia Motors by 118.9% in the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,609,000 after buying an additional 87,362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in Lithia Motors by 46.1% in the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 10,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,650,000 after buying an additional 3,313 shares in the last quarter.

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.