Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Shares Bought by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,340,670 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,015 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.06% of Lithia Motors worth $423,662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth approximately $1,601,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 3.0% during the third quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 263,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,158,000 after purchasing an additional 7,558 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $557,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,342,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter valued at $548,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LAD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Lithia Motors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $335.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Lithia Motors from $358.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays dropped their price target on Lithia Motors from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $386.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total transaction of $27,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $651,600. This represents a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.87% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD stock opened at $272.88 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $318.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $320.16. The firm has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.49 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 1.17. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $262.10 and a 1 year high of $360.55.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $6.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.09 by ($1.35). Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 2.18%.The company had revenue of $9.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 6.85%.

Lithia Motors Company 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.