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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Leveling the playing field for back-to-school supplies ... Making progress ... Our View: Every little bit helps in reducing emissions ... Leveling the playing field for back-to-school supplies ... Making progress ... Our View: Every little bit helps in reducing emissions ... AUTOMOTIVE Lithia Motors shares break the $100 mark Comment By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 8, 2015 at 3:46 PM Updated Apr 8, 2015 at 6:08 PM By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 8, 2015 at 3:46 PM Updated Apr 8, 2015 at 6:08 PM » Social News Lithia Motors shares topped the $100 mark for the first time Wednesday, closing at $101.47 on the New York Stock Exchange. The Medford auto retailer's shares have flirted with the century mark during recent trading sessions, peaking above it but retreating below it prior to the closing bell. The stock has been ascending since plunging briefly last summer. On July 3, shares traded for $96.37, then on Oct. 13, the stock dropped precipitously, losing a third of its value and closing at $64.01. Since then, Lithia has been on the rise. The relentless upward movement comes as no surprise to Executive Chairman Sid DeBoer, who firmly believed the stock was undervalued at $30 a decade ago and guided the company back to stability after a credit crunch and market implosion drove both the auto industry and his company to the brink. "All we had to do was get through the crisis, and we knew we would somehow," said DeBoer, who sold off or shuttered 15 percent of the company's dealerships six years ago. "People always find a way when they are as resilient as our people and company are; the auto industry is that way and has proven it for generations. We just had to wade through the mess." When Chrysler and General Motors teetered on the edge of failure, it was a watershed moment for the industry and Lithia, one of Chrysler's largest retailers. In March 2009, Lithia's stock scraped along the bottom, with shares trading at $2.25. "It was a great period of time to purchase our stock," DeBoer said. "There was a crisis at the time; the whole idea of financing anything with debt was anathema. Thankfully, the government responded. The Fed kept interest rates low, making it possible for people to make money." Within two years, Lithia had stabilized and was leaner and stronger. In May 2012, DeBoer turned over day-to-day operations to his son, Bryan, who joined the company in 1989. In the past two years, the company has pushed to new heights, regularly reporting quarterly revenue of more than $1 billion. Last year, Lithia reported sales of $5.4 billion, and notched its biggest overnight expansion ever when it acquired DCH Auto Group. The $362.5 million deal gave Lithia a presence in the nation's largest markets on both coasts. Per-share earnings are higher than ever. Bryan DeBoer laid out a plan to reach $6-per-share earnings within nine years a little over two years ago. Last year, the company topped $5, and the founding DeBoer suggests $6 will come this year. "You generate a lot of cash in our business," Sid DeBoer said. "You deploy capital to make improvements and buy more stores." The DCH acquisition added 2,500 new employees on Oct. 1, 2014. "We administer all those employees from Medford, and there were some local jobs created, too," he said. Markets are unpredictable. Today's highs can disappear quickly, but DeBoer thinks there is still plenty of upside. "It's taken 19 years, but I told everyone my goal was to get the company to $100 per share," DeBoer said. "This is pretty exciting for a 71-year-old man. If we continue to execute, the stock price will follow. I don't believe that we are done at $100 per share. You can't dictate the macro world we live in, but we can dictate what we do within that framework. " Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or  [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter at  www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness , on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/greg.stiles.31 , and read his blog at  www.mailtribune.com/ Economic Edge .   By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 8, 2015 at 3:46 PM Updated Apr 8, 2015 at 6:08 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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