AGP Franklin LLC Raises Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

AGP Franklin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 40.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,597 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,187 shares during the quarter. Lithia Motors comprises about 1.8% of AGP Franklin LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. AGP Franklin LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $3,645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Values First Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 17.6% in the first quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. CPC Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. CPC Advisors LLC now owns 10,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,534,000 after acquiring an additional 739 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 1st quarter worth about $604,000. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.6% in the first quarter. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,430,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 106.7% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on LAD shares. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.11.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the firm’s 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $513,780.84. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD opened at $296.23 on Tuesday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $239.78 and a 52-week high of $360.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.40, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s 50 day moving average is $285.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $297.98.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced 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 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 period last year, the business earned $7.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.57 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.01%.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.