Vise Technologies Inc. Takes Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 2,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $838,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 111.4% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 101.9% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,311.1% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 127 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $371.96 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $337.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $300.40. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $239.78 and a 52-week high of $439.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

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

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

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 9.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,681 shares in the company, valued at $513,780.84. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the sale, the director directly owned 760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,233.20. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 537 shares of company stock worth $157,385 in the last quarter. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $490.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $370.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $436.33.

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.