Wexford Capital LP Sells 190 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Wexford Capital LP decreased its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,407 shares of the company’s stock after selling 190 shares during the quarter. Wexford Capital LP’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total value of $80,676.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $362,444.40. This trade represents a 18.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total transaction of $72,128.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,219.48. This trade represents a 16.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 855 shares of company stock valued at $252,536 in the last three months. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD stock opened at $323.64 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $8.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.90, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $297.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $339.30. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $243.04 and a one year high of $405.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $7.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.77 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.11 earnings per share. On average, equities 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.55 dividend. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $397.00 to $308.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $417.00 to $356.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $415.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $328.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $361.20.

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.