Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Shares Down 7.1%

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) was down 7.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $253.70 and last traded at $262.11. Approximately 197,892 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 30% from the average daily volume of 282,140 shares. The stock had previously closed at $282.09.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on LAD shares. Stephens boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $365.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Citigroup upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $245.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $198.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Lithia Motors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $295.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 31st. Finally, Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $324.89.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 1.4 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $273.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $277.40. The company has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.23, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 1.33.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 25th. The company reported $9.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.99 by ($0.74). Lithia Motors had a net margin of 3.41% and a return on equity of 18.51%. The company had revenue of $8.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $11.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 37.29 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 9th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.00, for a total value of $49,036.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $564,213. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.59, for a total transaction of $1,552,950.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,919 shares in the company, valued at $6,807,822.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.00, for a total transaction of $49,036.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $564,213. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LAD. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,965,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,823.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.5% during the first quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,616,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1.1% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 413,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,612,000 after purchasing an additional 4,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 15.4% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 5,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,599,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period.

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.