Shauna Mcintyre Sells 165 Shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $513,780.84. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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

• On Monday, May 11th, Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of Lithia Motors stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total transaction of $72,186.80.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.3%

LAD opened at $313.47 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $281.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $298.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $239.78 and a one year high of $360.55.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.66 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 8.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAD has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 target price for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.11.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 13.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,487,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 67.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 113,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,272,000 after purchasing an additional 45,716 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 16.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 93,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,349,000 after purchasing an additional 13,407 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 16.2% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $821,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the second quarter worth $651,000.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

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.