Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 16,226 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 12.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 142,276 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,226 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.59% of Lithia Motors worth $44,959,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AGP Franklin LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.3% in the third quarter. AGP Franklin LLC now owns 10,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,305,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,434,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $503,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 3,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $951,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LAD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Lithia Motors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $335.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $358.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $382.33.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD stock opened at $265.80 on Tuesday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $251.00 and a twelve month high of $360.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The company has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s fifty day moving average is $314.13 and its 200-day moving average is $319.35.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $6.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.09 by ($1.35). The company had revenue of $9.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 2.18%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 6.85%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $27,000.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.