Retirement Systems of Alabama Lowers Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,726 shares of the company’s stock after selling 733 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.19% of Lithia Motors worth $13,058,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Lithia Motors by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 49,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,397,000 after purchasing an additional 9,818 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 20,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,836,000 after buying an additional 2,992 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 132.9% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,758,000 after buying an additional 10,920 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 30,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,007,000 after buying an additional 3,602 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the second quarter worth about $607,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim upgraded Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $338.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $321.50.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 4.9 %

Lithia Motors stock traded up $13.91 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $297.61. 286,728 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 247,707. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $265.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $272.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $8.16 billion, a PE ratio of 8.79, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.63. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $231.36 and a one year high of $331.96.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.09 by $0.78. The business had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.29 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 2.52%. The business’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $10.91 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 27.62 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.26%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total value of $88,632.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,707.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total value of $3,472,286.68. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,417,080.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total transaction of $88,632.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,707.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc operates as an automotive retailer worldwide. It operates in two segments, Vehicle Operations and Financing Operations. The company's Vehicle Operations segment sells new and used vehicles; provides parts, repair, and maintenance services; vehicle finance; and insurance products.