Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC reduced its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LADFree Report) by 7.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 80,894 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,448 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $20,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,062.8% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 11,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,679,000 after buying an additional 10,118 shares during the period. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,409,000. Tabor Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,722,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 284,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,490,000 after acquiring an additional 21,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 12.9% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 142,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,959,000 after acquiring an additional 16,226 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the transaction, the director owned 760 shares in the company, valued at $213,233.20. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total value of $72,186.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $543,905.44. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $290.19 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $288.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $296.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.99. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $239.78 and a 1 year high of $360.55. The firm has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.19, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.26.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LADGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.66 EPS. Analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America dropped their target price on Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.11.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on LAD

About Lithia Motors

(Free Report)

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company’s core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.

See Also

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD)

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