Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Shares Sold by Moon Capital Management LP

Moon Capital Management LP reduced its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,615 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,183 shares during the quarter. Lithia Motors makes up 1.8% of Moon Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Moon Capital Management LP’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $2,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 114.6% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 1,383.3% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 89 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth about $31,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LAD. Barclays lowered their price objective on Lithia Motors from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Lithia Motors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $335.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday. Evercore upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $399.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $386.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total transaction of $27,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $651,600. This represents a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 2.8%

LAD stock opened at $285.47 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $328.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $321.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.26. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $262.10 and a fifty-two week high of $360.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 1.20.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $6.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.09 by ($1.35). Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 2.18%.The business had revenue of $9.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.79 EPS. Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.85%.

Lithia Motors Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company’s core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.