Quantbot Technologies LP Takes $622,000 Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LADFree Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $622,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LAD. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 111.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 101.9% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,311.1% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 127 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $513,780.84. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAD has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group downgraded Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $370.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Citigroup upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $365.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $306.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $436.33.

Read Our Latest Research Report on LAD

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $372.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.22. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $239.78 and a 52 week high of $439.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $342.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $301.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LADGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.73 by $1.30. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The company had revenue of $9.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $10.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 9.29%.

Lithia Motors Profile

(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

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

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