SG Americas Securities LLC Has $494,000 Stock Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

SG Americas Securities LLC reduced its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 76.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,977 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,468 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in LAD. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,346,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,583,000 after purchasing an additional 6,113 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 742,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,814,000 after purchasing an additional 186,628 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 612,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,873,000 after purchasing an additional 33,966 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 426,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,654,000 after purchasing an additional 14,781 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $125,214,000.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $303.95 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $291.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $294.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $239.78 and a 12-month high of $360.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.26.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.28. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.66 earnings per share. Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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 dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.01%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total value of $50,430.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $513,780.84. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the director owned 760 shares in the company, valued at $213,233.20. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 782 shares of company stock valued at $229,572. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $305.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.22.

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.