WINTON GROUP Ltd Boosts Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 833.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,990 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,063 shares during the quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $5,685,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Abrams Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,490,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $787,009,000 after buying an additional 45,856 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,340,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,662,000 after acquiring an additional 14,015 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 5.9% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 612,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,873,000 after acquiring an additional 33,966 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 479,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,022,000 after purchasing an additional 11,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $148,540,000.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 2.4%

NYSE LAD opened at $265.80 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.27, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $314.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $319.35. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $251.00 and a one year high of $360.55.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $6.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.09 by ($1.35). The company had revenue of $9.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 2.18%.The firm’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 6.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LAD. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays reduced their target price on Lithia Motors from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Lithia Motors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $335.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $358.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $382.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $651,600. This represents a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.