Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Shares Bought by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 22.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 159,363 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,308 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.70% of Lithia Motors worth $39,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,389,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,074,000 after buying an additional 43,087 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 742,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,814,000 after buying an additional 186,628 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 5.9% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.6% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 426,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,654,000 after acquiring an additional 14,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $125,214,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the transaction, the director owned 760 shares in the company, valued at $213,233.20. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total transaction of $72,186.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,846 shares in the company, valued at $543,905.44. This trade represents a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on LAD shares. Weiss Ratings raised Lithia Motors from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $370.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $306.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five 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 $414.70.

More Lithia Motors News

Here are the key news stories impacting Lithia Motors this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly earnings beat estimates. Lithia reported adjusted EPS of $10.03, above the $8.73 consensus, while revenue reached a record $9.8 billion, exceeding expectations and increasing 2.2% year over year. Stronger used-vehicle margins, aftersales performance and financing income helped offset mixed sales trends. LAD Q2 Earnings Beat on Used Margins and Financing Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability and capital returns improved. Used retail gross profit per vehicle increased 20% sequentially, aftersales gross margin rose to 59.2%, and financing operations produced record income of $37 million. Lithia also repurchased $242 million of stock during the quarter and raised its quarterly dividend 23% to $0.70 per share. Lithia & Driveway Second-Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark became more bullish. Benchmark raised its price target from $400 to $475 and assigned a “buy” rating, citing potential upside after the earnings performance. Benchmark price-target update
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed. Wells Fargo lifted its target from $306 to $395 but retained an “equal weight” rating. The broader brokerage consensus is “moderate buy,” indicating support for the business but less certainty about additional gains after the recent rally. Brokerage consensus recommendation
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and profit-taking are weighing on shares. One analysis concluded that LAD could be roughly 15% above fair value after the earnings beat. The retreat from the record high suggests investors may be locking in gains and questioning how much of the improved results is already reflected in the stock. Lithia Motors Could Be 15% Above Fair Value

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD stock opened at $406.81 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $239.78 and a 1 year high of $439.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion, a PE ratio of 13.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $311.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $295.39.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.73 by $1.30. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 1.88%.The firm had revenue of $9.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $10.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 9.29%.

Lithia Motors Company 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.