Logan Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Logan Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,268 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,048 shares during the quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. owned 0.21% of Lithia Motors worth $16,705,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 111.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 2.5%

NYSE LAD opened at $312.43 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $239.78 and a 12 month high of $360.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $279.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $298.75.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.28. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 8.01%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total value of $72,186.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $543,905.44. This trade represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,233.20. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 707 shares of company stock worth $205,947. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LAD shares. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.11.

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.