4,098 Shares in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Acquired by Redwood Investment Management LLC

Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,190,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,062.8% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 11,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,679,000 after buying an additional 10,118 shares in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,409,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 284,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,490,000 after acquiring an additional 21,168 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 570.8% in the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 7,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,844,000 after acquiring an additional 6,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Lithia Motors by 140.7% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 11,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,787,000 after purchasing an additional 6,661 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total value of $50,430.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $513,780.84. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $369.74 on Thursday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $239.78 and a fifty-two week high of $439.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $341.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $301.18.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.73 by $1.30. The firm had revenue of $9.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.64 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The company’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.24 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LAD shares. Bank of America upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $490.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $306.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $436.33.

Lithia Motors Company 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.