Stifel Financial Corp Purchases 9,490 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 122.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,265 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,490 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned about 0.06% of Lithia Motors worth $5,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 83.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth about $80,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on LAD. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $357.60.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total transaction of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,744,821.34. This trade represents a 21.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total value of $6,127,965.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at $80,408,369.28. The trade was a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,290 shares of company stock worth $17,959,596 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Lithia Motors stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $380.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 268,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 260,573. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a PE ratio of 12.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.65. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.00 and a 12 month high of $405.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $353.97 and a 200 day moving average of $302.07.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The business 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.25 EPS. Analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is 7.24%.

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. Its Financing Operations segment provides financing to customers buying and leasing retail vehicles.