Abrams Capital Management L.P. Purchases 45,856 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Abrams Capital Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,490,534 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 45,856 shares during the period. Lithia Motors comprises 12.8% of Abrams Capital Management L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Abrams Capital Management L.P. owned about 10.27% of Lithia Motors worth $787,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AGP Franklin LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. AGP Franklin LLC now owns 10,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,305,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.4% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,434,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.4% in the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $503,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.6% in the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 276 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LAD shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Evercore raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Lithia Motors from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $388.90.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $305.45 on Thursday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $262.10 and a 12 month high of $373.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $331.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $321.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market cap of $7.41 billion, a PE ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 1.20.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $6.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.09 by ($1.35). The company had revenue of $9.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 2.18%.Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.79 EPS. Research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $27,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,810 shares in the company, valued at $651,600. This represents a 3.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

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.