Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 376,775 Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 376,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $125,214,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.55% of Lithia Motors as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 111.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth about $52,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on LAD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 sale, the director directly owned 1,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $543,905.44. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 760 shares in the company, valued at $213,233.20. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 617 shares of company stock valued at $174,966. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $291.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $274.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $298.48. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $239.78 and a 52-week high of $360.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.66 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. 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%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 8.01%.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.