Channing Capital Management LLC Acquires 3,067 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Channing Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 11.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,292 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,067 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Lithia Motors worth $9,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at about $1,601,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $557,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Lithia Motors by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 263,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,158,000 after buying an additional 7,558 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth approximately $39,342,000. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at approximately $578,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LAD. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $358.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Lithia Motors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $335.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $399.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $386.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 3.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.87% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of LAD opened at $293.71 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $262.10 and a 12 month high of $363.78. The stock has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.14 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $329.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $321.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $6.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.09 by ($1.35). The company had revenue of $9.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 2.18%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.85%.

Lithia Motors Company 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.