Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Position Lifted by River Road Asset Management LLC

River Road Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 33.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 742,677 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 186,628 shares during the quarter. Lithia Motors makes up about 2.7% of River Road Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $246,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 111.4% during 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 in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 101.9% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $294.95 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $284.72 and its 200 day moving average is $298.32. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $239.78 and a 12 month high of $360.55. The company has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

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

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 8.01%.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,233.20. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $513,780.84. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572 in the last 90 days. 1.08% 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.