Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Shauna Mcintyre Sells 138 Shares

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 138 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.42, for a total transaction of $35,109.96. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,228 shares in the company, valued at $566,847.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Shauna Mcintyre also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, February 16th, Shauna Mcintyre sold 135 shares of Lithia Motors stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.84, for a total value of $40,208.40.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $253.99 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $206.69 and a 1 year high of $331.96. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $280.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $283.35. The company has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.50, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.59.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $6.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.85 by ($1.74). Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 15.62% and a net margin of 2.87%. The company had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.44 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 33.17 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.90%.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FourThought Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,054,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,510,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on LAD. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Lithia Motors from $290.00 to $248.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $320.82.

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.