Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,766 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,641 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.41% of Lithia Motors worth $35,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LAD. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 60,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,436,000 after buying an additional 2,413 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 17,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,885,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 7.5% during the second quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 11.4% in the second quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 29,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,847,000 after purchasing an additional 2,978 shares during the period. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the second quarter worth $578,000.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $318.94 on Thursday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $262.10 and a 1 year high of $405.14. The firm has a market cap of $7.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.23, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $310.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $318.62. 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 (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.97. The company had revenue of $9.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.38 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 13.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.21 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 6.37%.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, August 26th that permits the company to repurchase $750.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $383.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $317.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $389.10.

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.