123,878 Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Shares Sold by Cooke & Bieler LP

Cooke & Bieler LP reduced its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 40.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 182,353 shares of the company’s stock after selling 123,878 shares during the quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $53,216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,311.1% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 68.0% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 32.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on LAD. Benchmark upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup cut their target price on Lithia Motors from $455.00 to $409.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $306.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Lithia Motors from $340.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $402.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.73, for a total value of $27,804.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $852,679. The trade was a 3.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD opened at $270.21 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $333.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $315.12. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.27. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $239.78 and a 52-week high of $439.49.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $10.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.70 by $0.64. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 35.60 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 6th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 9.29%.

Key Stories Impacting Lithia Motors

Here are the key news stories impacting Lithia Motors this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted earnings and revenue exceeded expectations. Adjusted diluted EPS rose 9% year over year to $10.34, ahead of the $9.70 consensus estimate, while revenue increased 2.8% to $9.95 billion versus expectations of $9.75 billion. Reported diluted EPS was $13.22, up 54% from the prior-year quarter. Lithia & Driveway third-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Retail and finance operations showed strength. Used-vehicle retail gross profit per unit increased 11% year over year to $197, aftersales gross margin improved to 59.5%, and Driveway Finance income jumped 69% to $32.3 million. Finance originations reached a record $937 million. Lithia key takeaways
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns increased. Lithia raised its quarterly dividend 7.1%, from $0.70 to $0.75 per share, and repurchased $85 million of stock during the quarter—about 1.1% of shares outstanding. Lithia dividend and results announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings call is the next key focus. Investors are likely looking for management commentary on vehicle demand, used-car margins, financing trends, inventory, and the outlook to determine whether the quarterly beat can continue.
• Negative Sentiment: The market response was unfavorable despite the beat. Revenue growth remained relatively modest, and the decline in the shares indicates investors may have expected stronger forward guidance or see risks in the auto-retailing environment that outweighed the quarterly upside.

Lithia Motors Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc is an automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Operating under the Lithia & Driveway name, the company sells new and used vehicles through a network of franchised dealerships and digital retail channels. Its dealerships represent a broad range of domestic, Asian and European automotive brands.

In addition to vehicle sales, Lithia provides related services including vehicle financing and insurance products, parts and maintenance, collision repair, and other after-sales support.