Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Stock Holdings Lifted by Logan Capital Management Inc.

Logan Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,268 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,048 shares during the period. Logan Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $16,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Abrams Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,490,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $787,009,000 after acquiring an additional 45,856 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,340,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,662,000 after acquiring an additional 14,015 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 612,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,873,000 after acquiring an additional 33,966 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 426,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,654,000 after acquiring an additional 14,781 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth about $125,214,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LAD shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.11.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $312.43 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $239.78 and a twelve month high of $360.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a 50-day moving average of $279.81 and a 200-day moving average of $298.75. The firm has a market cap of $7.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.26.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.66 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 8.01%.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total transaction of $72,186.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $543,905.44. This trade represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the transaction, the director owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,233.20. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 707 shares of company stock valued at $205,947. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

About Lithia Motors

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.