Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Stock: Hennessy Advisors Inc. Lowers Stake

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 103,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,300 shares during the period. Lithia Motors accounts for approximately 1.1% of Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned 0.47% of Lithia Motors worth $30,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1,311.1% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 127 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Lithia Motors by 68.0% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 32.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.73, for a total value of $27,804.75. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $852,679. This represents a 3.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $299.30 on Monday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $239.78 and a 12 month high of $439.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $322.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $307.92. The company has a market cap of $6.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.30.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $10.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.70 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.75 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.05% and a net margin of 2.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 35.78 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 8.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on LAD shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $490.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $305.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $306.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six 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 target price of $393.80.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc is an automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Operating under the Lithia & Driveway name, the company sells new and used vehicles through a network of franchised dealerships and digital retail channels. Its dealerships represent a broad range of domestic, Asian and European automotive brands.

In addition to vehicle sales, Lithia provides related services including vehicle financing and insurance products, parts and maintenance, collision repair, and other after-sales support.