Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Trading Down 7.1%

Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) fell 7.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $256.07 and last traded at $256.50. 204,864 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 246,867 shares. The stock had previously closed at $276.20.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $327.50.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $274.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $271.81.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.09 by $0.78. The firm had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.29 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 2.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $10.91 EPS. Research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.89 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 6.26%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total value of $88,632.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,707.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,417,080.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total transaction of $88,632.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at $556,707.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 80.2% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth about $80,000.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

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.