2,106 Shares in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Bought by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 2,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $700,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 79.1% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 369 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth $366,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 8,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080 shares during the period. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth $299,000. Finally, Abacus Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $412,000.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $290.59 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $271.40 and its 200-day moving average is $298.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a PE ratio of 10.20, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.28. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $239.78 and a 52 week high of $360.55.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the transaction, the director owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,233.20. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total value of $72,186.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,846 shares in the company, valued at $543,905.44. This trade represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 617 shares of company stock worth $174,966 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on LAD shares. Citigroup upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group started coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.30.

Lithia Motors Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company’s core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.