Congdon Stacy Loretz Sells 75 Shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.73, for a total transaction of $27,804.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $852,679. The trade was a 3.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD opened at $344.61 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $360.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $307.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.57 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.23. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $239.78 and a 52 week high of $439.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.73 by $1.30. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 1.88%.The company had revenue of $9.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $10.24 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.29%.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $490.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $306.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $365.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $436.33.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LAD. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth about $241,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 3,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,811,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $770,000. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $211,000.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

Lithia Motors, operating under the Lithia & Driveway name, is an automotive retail company that sells new and used vehicles through a network of dealerships and digital channels. Its retail operations represent numerous automobile manufacturers and provide customers with vehicle purchasing, financing, leasing and protection products.

The company also operates parts and service departments that provide maintenance, repairs, collision work and replacement parts. Through its Driveway platform, Lithia offers online vehicle shopping, financing, trade-ins and delivery services, extending its automotive retail model beyond traditional dealership locations.

Founded in 1946 in Ashland, Oregon, Lithia Motors has expanded through acquisitions and dealership development.