Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Acquires 3,397 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,690 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,397 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned about 0.37% of Lithia Motors worth $32,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 106.2% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 1st quarter worth approximately $55,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 1st quarter worth approximately $59,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 63.7% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 203 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.05, for a total transaction of $75,020.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $403,236.80. This trade represents a 15.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.87% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Lithia Motors from $383.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Lithia Motors from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $378.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.50.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of LAD opened at $323.03 on Thursday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $262.10 and a 1 year high of $405.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $318.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $315.06. The stock has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a PE ratio of 9.58, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.28.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.78 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 2.39%.The business had revenue of $9.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.56 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 26th that allows the company to buyback $750.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.52%.

Lithia Motors Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc operates as an automotive retailer worldwide. It operates in two segments, Vehicle Operations and Financing Operations. The company’s Vehicle Operations segment sells new and used vehicles; provides parts, repair, and maintenance services; vehicle finance; and insurance products. Its Financing Operations segment provides financing to customers buying and leasing retail vehicles.