Shauna Mcintyre Sells 245 Shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total transaction of $72,186.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,846 shares in the company, valued at $543,905.44. The trade was a 11.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $272.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.57, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.28. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $239.78 and a 12 month high of $360.55. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $267.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $301.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.66 EPS. Analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.44 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 8.01%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. AGP Franklin LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. AGP Franklin LLC now owns 10,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,305,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,434,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 403 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on LAD shares. Barclays decreased their target price on 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 increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $367.22.

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.