Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Shares Acquired by Boothbay Fund Management LLC

Boothbay Fund Management LLC increased its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,922 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,275 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC owned about 0.11% of Lithia Motors worth $8,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Abrams Capital Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.9% in the third quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,490,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $787,009,000 after buying an additional 45,856 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Lithia Motors by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,346,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,583,000 after purchasing an additional 6,113 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 33,966 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in Lithia Motors by 3.6% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 426,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,654,000 after purchasing an additional 14,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth approximately $125,214,000.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,233.20. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 782 shares of company stock valued at $229,572. 1.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD opened at $292.60 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $239.78 and a 52-week high of $360.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $284.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $298.49. The company has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.26.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.66 earnings per share. Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 8.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAD has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Barclays cut their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.11.

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.