Inspire Advisors LLC Purchases 213 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Inspire Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,056 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 119,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,068,000 after buying an additional 5,005 shares during the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 9.9% during the first quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 280,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,325,000 after acquiring an additional 25,331 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the first quarter worth about $3,505,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the first quarter worth about $32,824,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $7,046,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LAD. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $410.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Lithia Motors from $383.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $317.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $383.10.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $293.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.21. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $262.10 and a 52 week high of $405.67. The firm has a market cap of $7.13 billion, a PE ratio of 8.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $314.22 and its 200-day moving average is $318.58.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.97. The business had revenue of $9.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.38 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.42% and a net margin of 2.39%.Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.21 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.37%.

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.