Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC lowered its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 53.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,752 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $7,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 863 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 1,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup raised Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $415.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $328.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their target price on Lithia Motors from $417.00 to $356.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $361.20.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In related news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total transaction of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,049.40. The trade was a 13.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 337 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.94, for a total value of $99,731.78. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $482,974.08. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,583 shares of company stock valued at $533,455. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $321.78 on Tuesday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $243.04 and a one year high of $405.68. The company has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a PE ratio of 10.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $295.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $339.71.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $7.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.77 by ($0.11). Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.11 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 6.93%.

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.