Hsbc Holdings PLC Invests $17.22 Million in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 60,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,219,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.27% of Lithia Motors as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 101.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $513,780.84. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $306.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $365.00 to $455.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $436.33.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of LAD opened at $372.07 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 1.00. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $342.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $301.37. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $239.78 and a 52 week high of $439.49.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released 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 company had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 1.88%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $10.24 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

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

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.