Legal & General Group Plc Takes Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 36,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,722,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.17% of Lithia Motors at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 111.4% during the fourth 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 period. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Lithia Motors by 1,311.1% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 127 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Lithia Motors stock opened at $366.72 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50-day moving average of $345.73 and a 200-day moving average of $301.93. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $239.78 and a 1 year high of $439.49.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.73 by $1.30. The business had revenue of $9.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.16%. Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $10.24 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 36 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 9.29%.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on LAD. UBS Group downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $370.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $490.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $365.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $436.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total value of $50,430.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $513,780.84. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Lithia Motors

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.