4,005 Shares in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Purchased by Redwood Investment Management LLC

Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,432,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LAD. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 92.6% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 2,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004 shares during the last quarter. Parkwood LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Parkwood LLC now owns 22,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,073,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,263,000. Finally, LRT Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 54.4% during the 4th quarter. LRT Capital Management LLC now owns 4,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,714 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $328.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Lithia Motors from $417.00 to $356.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $415.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $361.20.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $320.42 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $296.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $339.37. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.04 and a twelve month high of $405.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $7.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.77 by ($0.11). Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.11 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 6.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 337 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.94, for a total value of $99,731.78. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $482,974.08. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total value of $80,676.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,213 shares in the company, valued at $362,444.40. This trade represents a 18.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 855 shares of company stock worth $252,536. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc operates as an automotive retailer worldwide. It operates in two segments, Vehicle Operations and Financing Operations. The company’s Vehicle Operations segment sells new and used vehicles; provides parts, repair, and maintenance services; vehicle finance; and insurance products. Its Financing Operations segment provides financing to customers buying and leasing retail vehicles.