Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Stock Position Trimmed by Schroder Investment Management Group

Schroder Investment Management Group decreased its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 81,117 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,142 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $27,403,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LAD. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 119,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,068,000 after buying an additional 5,005 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 17,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,885,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the first quarter worth $3,505,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the first quarter valued at $32,824,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the first quarter valued at about $7,046,000.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE LAD opened at $317.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.29. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $262.10 and a 12 month high of $405.14. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $309.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $318.49.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.97. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 13.42%. The firm had revenue of $9.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $8.21 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 6.37%.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $410.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America dropped their target price on Lithia Motors from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $389.10.

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.