CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. Makes New Investment in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 41,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,982,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. owned 0.17% of Lithia Motors at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,601,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 263,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,158,000 after acquiring an additional 7,558 shares during the period. Abrams Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.9% in the third quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,490,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $787,009,000 after purchasing an additional 45,856 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth $557,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the third quarter valued at $39,342,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LAD. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Lithia Motors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $335.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Evercore upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $358.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $382.33.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

NYSE LAD opened at $248.23 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $239.78 and a 1 year high of $360.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $301.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $315.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $6.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.09 by ($1.35). The company had revenue of $9.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 2.18%.The business’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $7.79 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.85%.

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.