Bank of Montreal Can Sells 304 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Bank of Montreal Can reduced its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 9.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,970 shares of the company’s stock after selling 304 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LAD. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 127.4% in the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 1,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 878 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the 1st quarter worth about $381,000. Bailard Inc. grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 1,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 22.2% during the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of LAD stock opened at $294.79 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $316.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $318.48. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $262.10 and a 12-month high of $405.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.29.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.97. The company had revenue of $9.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.38 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.42% and a net margin of 2.39%.Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.21 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 26th that allows the company to repurchase $750.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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 report on Wednesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $317.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $410.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their target price on Lithia Motors from $383.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $383.10.

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.