SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 3,425 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

SG Americas Securities LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 66.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,746 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,425 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Abrams Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,444,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,611,000 after buying an additional 53,490 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $595,112,000 after acquiring an additional 2,027,342 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 6.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,267,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $372,053,000 after acquiring an additional 72,980 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 479,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,022,000 after purchasing an additional 11,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 376,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,508,000 after purchasing an additional 30,420 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD stock opened at $317.36 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $310.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $318.62. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $262.10 and a fifty-two week high of $405.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.70 billion, a PE ratio of 9.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.29.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $9.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.97. The firm had revenue of $9.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.38 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.42% and a net margin of 2.39%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.21 EPS. Analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 26th that allows the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on LAD. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $399.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Lithia Motors from $383.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $410.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $389.10.

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.