Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 200 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System decreased its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $2,466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 106.2% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 1st quarter valued at $55,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 63.7% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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 valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of LAD opened at $298.33 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.84, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $320.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $315.09. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $262.10 and a twelve month high of $405.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.78 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 13.21%. The business had revenue of $9.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.56 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $750.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 6.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 256 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.05, for a total value of $75,020.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $403,236.80. This represents a 15.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $383.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America cut 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 note on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $378.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.50.

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.