Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Shares Sold by Harfst & Associates Inc.

Harfst & Associates Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,819 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,144 shares during the quarter. Lithia Motors comprises about 1.5% of Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Harfst & Associates Inc. owned 0.11% of Lithia Motors worth $8,580,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,434,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 111.4% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 7,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,525,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. 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. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.11.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE LAD opened at $295.71 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a PE ratio of 10.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.26. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $239.78 and a fifty-two week high of $360.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $272.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $298.60. 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 (NYSE:LAD) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.66 EPS. As a group, 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.01%.

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 repurchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, 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 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the company’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 value of $72,186.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $543,905.44. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 617 shares of company stock valued at $174,966. 1.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.