Strs Ohio Makes New $1.85 Million Investment in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 6,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,852,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 10,136,710.0% during the 1st quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 2,027,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,112,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027,342 shares during the last quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the first quarter valued at about $58,825,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,840.6% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 181,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,359,000 after acquiring an additional 172,410 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the first quarter valued at about $36,762,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the first quarter valued at about $32,824,000.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 256 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.05, for a total transaction of $75,020.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,376 shares in the company, valued at $403,236.80. The trade was a 15.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $332.60 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $8.53 billion, a PE ratio of 9.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.31. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $262.10 and a 12 month high of $405.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $319.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $313.35.

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

Lithia Motors declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 26th that permits the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th 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 was Friday, August 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 6.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LAD. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $364.00 to $317.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup raised 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. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $340.00 target price for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $370.45.

About Lithia Motors

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.