Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) CFO Sells $392,720.00 in Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total transaction of $392,720.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at $4,085,466.16. This trade represents a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE LAD opened at $386.16 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $334.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $291.59. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.00 and a 1 year high of $405.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versor Investments LP boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at about $607,000. Comerica Bank grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 89.0% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 29,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,867,000 after acquiring an additional 13,875 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in Lithia Motors by 22.9% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 70,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,774,000 after acquiring an additional 13,126 shares during the period. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 118.9% in 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 in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LAD shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $357.60.

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.