Advent International L.P. Has $50.47 Million Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Advent International L.P. cut its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 47.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 149,401 shares of the company’s stock after selling 137,385 shares during the period. Lithia Motors comprises approximately 1.6% of Advent International L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Advent International L.P. owned approximately 0.58% of Lithia Motors worth $50,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $503,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 16.9% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 2.5% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $592,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 2.8% in the second quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Red Spruce Capital LLC increased its position in Lithia Motors by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 7,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,662,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $344.65 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $8.36 billion, a PE ratio of 9.98, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $311.57 and its 200-day moving average is $319.70. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $262.10 and a 52 week high of $405.14.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its 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 company had revenue of $9.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.21 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 6.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on LAD. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $399.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays initiated coverage on Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $410.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $389.10.

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.