Versor Investments LP Decreases Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Versor Investments LP trimmed its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 54.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,399 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,681 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.5% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $711,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 16.9% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $592,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 7,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,662,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 114.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 report on Wednesday, October 15th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $380.11.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD opened at $297.93 on Wednesday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $262.10 and a 12-month high of $405.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.64 billion, a PE ratio of 8.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $322.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $318.34.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $9.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.21 EPS. Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.37%.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 26th that permits the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Lithia Motors

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.