Tabor Asset Management LP Takes Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Tabor Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,722,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LAD. Abrams Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,490,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $787,009,000 after acquiring an additional 45,856 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 1.1% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,340,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,662,000 after buying an additional 14,015 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.9% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 612,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,873,000 after acquiring an additional 33,966 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 479,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,022,000 after purchasing an additional 11,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at $148,540,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Citigroup dropped their target price on Lithia Motors from $399.00 to $366.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $382.33.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 2.4%

LAD opened at $265.80 on Tuesday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $251.00 and a fifty-two week high of $360.55. The company has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $314.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $319.35.

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). Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 2.18%.The company had revenue of $9.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.79 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.85%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $27,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $651,600. The trade was a 3.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.