Quantbot Technologies LP Makes New $622,000 Investment in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 2,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $622,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $696,482,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,389,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,074,000 after acquiring an additional 43,087 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 742,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,814,000 after acquiring an additional 186,628 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.9% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 612,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,873,000 after acquiring an additional 33,966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.6% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 426,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,654,000 after acquiring an additional 14,781 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $513,780.84. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on LAD shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $490.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $306.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $365.00 to $455.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $436.33.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of LAD opened at $372.07 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $239.78 and a twelve month high of $439.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $342.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $301.37.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.73 by $1.30. The firm had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 1.88%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $10.24 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.29%.

About Lithia Motors

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.