Jones Financial Companies Lllp Increases Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 1,763.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,989 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,292 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $3,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 1st quarter valued at about $59,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 63.7% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in Lithia Motors by 30.1% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 50.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 1st quarter valued at $136,000.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 256 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.05, for a total value of $75,020.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $403,236.80. This represents a 15.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of LAD opened at $337.15 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $320.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $313.85. The stock has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a PE ratio of 10.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.31. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $255.32 and a 12 month high of $405.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.78 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $9.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.56 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 2.39%. Equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 26th that permits the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $383.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Citigroup upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $378.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $340.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $370.45.

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.