R Squared Ltd Raises Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

R Squared Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,410 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the quarter. R Squared Ltd’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 106.2% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 1st quarter valued at $55,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 50.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $332.01 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $262.10 and a one year high of $405.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $323.26 and its 200 day moving average is $316.64. The stock has a market cap of $8.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 1.21.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $9.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.97. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.42% and a net margin of 2.39%.The company had revenue of $9.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.21 EPS. Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.52%.

Lithia Motors announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 26th that allows the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LAD shares. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Lithia Motors from $383.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $317.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Lithia Motors from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $378.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.05, for a total transaction of $75,020.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $403,236.80. This trade represents a 15.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors 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.