Hsbc Holdings PLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Hsbc Holdings PLC lessened its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 14.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,515 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,248 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $6,174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 111.4% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 101.9% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.11.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 1.6%

Lithia Motors stock 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 company 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $287.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $297.38.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

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

Lithia Motors announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,233.20. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 782 shares of company stock valued at $229,572 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

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.