Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Shares Sold by Aristides Capital LLC

Aristides Capital LLC lowered its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 38.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,287 shares of the company’s stock after selling 813 shares during the period. Aristides Capital LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LAD. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 61.2% in the second quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $903,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.6% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 39,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,449,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $753,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in Lithia Motors by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 4,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAD has been the topic of several research reports. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Barclays started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $410.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings cut Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $389.10.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $318.94 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.21. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $262.10 and a one year high of $405.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.23, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s fifty day moving average is $310.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $318.62.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.97. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 13.42%. The business had revenue of $9.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.21 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 26th that permits the company to repurchase $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.37%.

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.