Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC Acquires 37,938 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 48.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 115,725 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 37,938 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $38,459,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LAD. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.4% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,434,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 403 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC increased its position in Lithia Motors by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 111.4% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 0.6% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 7,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,525,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,846 shares in the company, valued at $543,905.44. This trade represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the company’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 value of $83,329.29. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 617 shares of company stock valued at $174,966 in the last 90 days. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE LAD opened at $290.59 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $271.40 and its 200 day moving average is $298.60. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $239.78 and a 12 month high of $360.55. The stock has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a PE ratio of 10.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.26.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.66 EPS. Research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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 of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LAD shares. Bank of America cut their target price on Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research raised Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.30.

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.