Sidney B. Deboer Sells 10,777 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.4 %

Lithia Motors stock opened at $280.72 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $7.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.64. The business has a fifty day moving average of $276.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $271.20. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.36 and a twelve month high of $331.96.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.09 by $0.78. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 2.52%. The company had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $10.91 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $360.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $326.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 49,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,397,000 after purchasing an additional 9,818 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 132.9% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,758,000 after buying an additional 10,920 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the second quarter worth about $607,000. Comerica Bank grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 89.0% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 29,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,867,000 after acquiring an additional 13,875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 11.2% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 203,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,318,000 after acquiring an additional 20,416 shares in the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

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.