Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Shares Sold by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,515 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,248 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.08% of Lithia Motors worth $6,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,346,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,583,000 after acquiring an additional 6,113 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 742,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,814,000 after purchasing an additional 186,628 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 33,966 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 worth $134,654,000 after purchasing an additional 14,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth $125,214,000.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of LAD opened at $291.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $239.78 and a 1-year high of $360.55. The stock has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a PE ratio of 10.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $287.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $297.38.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued 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 return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.The company had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.66 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.01%.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on LAD shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays cut their target price on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price target for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 1,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $543,905.44. This trade represents a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572 in the last 90 days. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lithia Motors 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.