Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Congdon Stacy Loretz Sells 270 Shares of Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total transaction of $80,676.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $362,444.40. This represents a 18.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 3.4 %

Lithia Motors stock opened at $295.39 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $405.68. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $350.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $341.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.95, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. Equities 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 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.14%.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth approximately $152,752,000. Egerton Capital UK LLP purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $113,250,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP grew its position in Lithia Motors by 137.8% during the 4th quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 460,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,524,000 after purchasing an additional 266,715 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at about $91,190,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth about $46,505,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $371.36.

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.