Stephens Inc. AR Has $355,000 Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Stephens Inc. AR cut its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 33.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,050 shares of the company’s stock after selling 517 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LAD. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 106.2% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the 1st quarter valued at $55,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD opened at $332.01 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $8.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.28. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $262.10 and a 52-week high of $405.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.21. The business’s fifty day moving average is $323.26 and its 200-day moving average is $317.05.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.97. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.42% and a net margin of 2.39%.The business had revenue of $9.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.21 EPS. Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.37%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Saturday. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $378.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 256 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was 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. This represents a 15.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.