Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Trims Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. cut its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 67.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,545 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,278 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 114.6% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Lithia Motors by 1,383.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 89 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 1st quarter worth $55,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth $67,000.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $345.22 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99 and a beta of 1.18. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $262.10 and a 52 week high of $405.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $318.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $321.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results 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 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 analyst estimates of $9.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LAD shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $317.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Barclays initiated coverage on Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $410.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $389.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $27,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $651,600. The trade was a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company’s core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.