Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Shares Purchased by Tectonic Advisors LLC

Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 13.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,247 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 10,136,710.0% during the first quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 2,027,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,112,000 after acquiring an additional 2,027,342 shares during the last quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the first quarter worth about $58,825,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 1,840.6% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 181,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,359,000 after acquiring an additional 172,410 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the first quarter worth about $36,762,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the first quarter worth about $32,824,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 256 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.05, for a total transaction of $75,020.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $403,236.80. This represents a 15.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $378.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price target on Lithia Motors from $383.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Eight 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, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.50.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $298.33 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $320.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $315.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 1.22. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $262.10 and a one year high of $405.67. The firm has a market cap of $7.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.28.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.78 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 13.21%. The firm had revenue of $9.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.56 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, August 26th that allows the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.52%.

Lithia Motors Profile

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.