Bayforest Capital Ltd Has $368,000 Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 14.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,253 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 161 shares during the quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 1st quarter worth about $59,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.1% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 50.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 256 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.05, for a total transaction of $75,020.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $403,236.80. This represents a 15.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $430.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Guggenheim cut their price target on Lithia Motors from $417.00 to $356.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $415.00 to $375.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $364.00 to $317.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $340.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.80.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE LAD opened at $288.14 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.46. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $255.32 and a fifty-two week high of $405.67. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $325.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $323.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.22.

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

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.52%.

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.