Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Shauna Mcintyre Sells 90 Shares of Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 90 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $24,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $494,175. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

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

• On Friday, August 25th, Shauna Mcintyre sold 164 shares of Lithia Motors stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.00, for a total transaction of $49,036.00.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE LAD opened at $272.57 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a PE ratio of 7.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $272.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $278.66. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $185.00 and a 52 week high of $329.00.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 25th. The company reported $9.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.99 by ($0.74). The firm had revenue of $8.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.17 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 18.51% and a net margin of 3.41%. The company’s revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $11.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 37.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 17th. Investors of record on Friday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on LAD. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $198.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $245.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $348.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $365.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned 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 $324.89.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LAD. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 102.9% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 676,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,703,000 after buying an additional 343,000 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth $65,185,000. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 114.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 463,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,949,000 after buying an additional 247,174 shares during the last quarter. MFN Partners Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 43.0% in the first quarter. MFN Partners Management LP now owns 751,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,413,000 after buying an additional 225,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eaton Vance Management raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 37,874.1% in the first quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 171,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,400,000 after buying an additional 170,812 shares during the last quarter.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc operates as an automotive retailer. The company operates through Domestic, Import, and Luxury segments. It offers new and used vehicles; vehicle financing services; warranties, insurance contracts, and vehicle and theft protection services; and automotive repair and maintenance services, as well as sells body and parts for the new vehicles under the Driveway and GreenCars brand names.