Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Has $2.26 Million Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,688 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 321 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $2,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 1.3% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 9,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,281,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 2.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 479,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,022,000 after purchasing an additional 11,859 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Beck Bode LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Beck Bode LLC now owns 4,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth $1,056,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Lithia Motors from $383.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $399.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $410.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $383.10.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $287.44 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $312.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $318.20. The stock has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.29. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $262.10 and a 52-week high of $405.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.21.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.97. The company had revenue of $9.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.38 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 13.42%. Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.37%.

About Lithia Motors

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.