Bryan B. Deboer Sells 6,742 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 6,742 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,696,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,778,000. The trade was a 3.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.9 %

LAD stock opened at $390.73 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $332.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $290.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.22, a PEG ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 1.63. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $243.00 and a one year high of $405.67.

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

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on LAD. StockNews.com lowered Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. 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 research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $357.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Versor Investments LP grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth about $607,000. Comerica Bank raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 89.0% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 29,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,867,000 after purchasing an additional 13,875 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 70,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,774,000 after purchasing an additional 13,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 118.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,609,000 after purchasing an additional 87,362 shares during the period.

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.