Insider Selling: Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Director Sells 75 Shares of Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.33, for a total value of $19,449.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $449,937.55. The trade was a 4.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:LAD traded down $0.95 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $254.90. The company had a trading volume of 394,008 shares, compared to its average volume of 330,687. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $251.00 and a 1-year high of $360.55. The stock has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a PE ratio of 7.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $308.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $317.60.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $6.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.09 by ($1.35). The company had revenue of $9.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 12.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.79 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 6.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. AGP Franklin LLC grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. AGP Franklin LLC now owns 10,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,305,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,434,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 2.4% during the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $503,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $335.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Lithia Motors from $399.00 to $366.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $382.33.

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.