Bryan B. Deboer Sells 11,627 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 11,627 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.00, for a total value of $4,534,530.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 181,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,662,930. This trade represents a 6.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.9 %

LAD opened at $394.24 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46, a P/E/G ratio of 6.47 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $330.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.79. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $405.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.25 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.18 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 7.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versor Investments LP raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 7.0% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter valued at about $607,000. Comerica Bank boosted its position 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 buying an additional 13,875 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 22.9% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 70,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,774,000 after buying an additional 13,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 118.9% during 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LAD shares. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $357.60.

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. Its Financing Operations segment provides financing to customers buying and leasing retail vehicles.