Hudson Bay Capital Management LP Boosts Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 1,127.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 20,892 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,190 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $7,058,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.4% during the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.6% in 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 during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 16.9% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 276 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $592,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $526,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total transaction of $27,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $651,600. This represents a 3.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $317.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $410.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $389.10.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of LAD stock opened at $346.59 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $312.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $320.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a PE ratio of 10.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.18. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $262.10 and a 1-year high of $405.14.

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

Lithia Motors announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $750.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 6.37%.

Lithia Motors Company 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.