Moon Capital Management LP Decreases Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Moon Capital Management LP trimmed its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 29.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,615 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,183 shares during the quarter. Lithia Motors makes up 1.8% of Moon Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Moon Capital Management LP’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $2,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Abrams Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,490,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $787,009,000 after purchasing an additional 45,856 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.9% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 612,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,873,000 after buying an additional 33,966 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 2.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 479,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,022,000 after buying an additional 11,859 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at approximately $148,540,000. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 26.4% during the 2nd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 412,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,356,000 after acquiring an additional 86,121 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore upped their target price on shares of 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 decreased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $358.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Lithia Motors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $335.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $386.00.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total transaction of $27,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $651,600. This trade represents a 3.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD opened at $285.47 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 1.20. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $262.10 and a 12 month high of $360.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $328.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $321.49.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results 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). Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 2.18%.The business had revenue of $9.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.