Bryan B. Deboer Sells 3,313 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 3,313 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total transaction of $1,258,940.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 192,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,269,320. The trade was a 1.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE LAD opened at $371.06 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.00 and a 52-week high of $388.36. The stock has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a PE ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 1.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $319.77 and a 200-day moving average of $285.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.25 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.6% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,722,000. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth $507,000. Tensile Capital Management LP raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 2.4% in the third quarter. Tensile Capital Management LP now owns 261,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,071,000 after purchasing an additional 6,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 122.1% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 17,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,484,000 after buying an additional 9,490 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $353.80.

About Lithia Motors

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.