Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Shares Acquired by Quadrant Capital Group LLC

Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 61.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,673 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares during the quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $903,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 2.5% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 0.6% during the second quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 7,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,662,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 114.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on LAD shares. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of 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 dropped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $410.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price target on Lithia Motors from $383.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $389.10.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.1%

LAD stock opened at $318.84 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $7.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.23, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.29. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $262.10 and a 1-year high of $405.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $309.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $318.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $9.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.97. The company had revenue of $9.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.38 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.42% and a net margin of 2.39%.Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.21 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 26th that permits the company to buyback $750.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 6.37%.

About Lithia Motors

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. Its Financing Operations segment provides financing to customers buying and leasing retail vehicles.