Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC Buys Shares of 1,378 Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $400,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LAD. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $696,482,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth $125,214,000. Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth $66,988,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter valued at $63,015,000. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 742,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,814,000 after purchasing an additional 186,628 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of LAD stock opened at $372.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $339.72 and a 200-day moving average of $300.91. The stock has a market cap of $8.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.22. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $239.78 and a 52-week high of $439.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.73 by $1.30. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The business had revenue of $9.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $10.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total value of $50,430.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $513,780.84. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $365.00 to $455.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $490.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $436.33.

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.