Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys New Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 125,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,762,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at about $247,000. Essex Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at $211,000. Consolidated Planning Corp increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 2,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on LAD. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup raised Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the company from $415.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $397.00 to $308.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $340.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $362.40.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $328.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.04 and a 52 week high of $405.68. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $305.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $332.89.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $7.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.77 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 6.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 337 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.94, for a total transaction of $99,731.78. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $482,974.08. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors 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.