WINTON GROUP Ltd Takes Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 16,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,811,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LAD. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 3.8% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 4.6% during the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 842 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 4,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 32.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $365.00 to $455.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $436.33.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.5%

LAD opened at $365.90 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $239.78 and a twelve month high of $439.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $358.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $305.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.23.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.73 by $1.30. The firm had revenue of $9.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.64 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.24 EPS. Analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 9.29%.

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

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, operating under the Lithia & Driveway name, is an automotive retail company that sells new and used vehicles through a network of dealerships and digital channels. Its retail operations represent numerous automobile manufacturers and provide customers with vehicle purchasing, financing, leasing and protection products.

The company also operates parts and service departments that provide maintenance, repairs, collision work and replacement parts. Through its Driveway platform, Lithia offers online vehicle shopping, financing, trade-ins and delivery services, extending its automotive retail model beyond traditional dealership locations.

Founded in 1946 in Ashland, Oregon, Lithia Motors has expanded through acquisitions and dealership development.