Tudor Investment Corp ET AL Grows Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 36.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 61,080 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,221 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $19,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth $31,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth $31,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 75.0% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 105 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on LAD. Evercore lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Lithia Motors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $335.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $399.00 to $366.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $382.33.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $243.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of 7.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.20. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $300.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $314.56. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $239.78 and a twelve month high of $360.55.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $6.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.09 by ($1.35). Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 12.76%. The business had revenue of $9.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.79 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.85%.

Lithia Motors 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.