Caxton Associates LLP Purchases Shares of 3,340 Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 403 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 4,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD opened at $341.04 on Monday. 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 market capitalization of $7.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $302.18 and a 200 day moving average of $293.89. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $239.78 and a 12 month high of $360.55.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.The business had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,681 shares in the company, valued at $513,780.84. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 760 shares in the company, valued at $213,233.20. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 782 shares of company stock valued at $229,572. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAD has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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 cut Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Citigroup increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $380.33.

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.