Lyrical Asset Management LP Reduces Stock Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Lyrical Asset Management LP lessened its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 475,742 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,674 shares during the quarter. Lithia Motors comprises about 2.2% of Lyrical Asset Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Lyrical Asset Management LP owned 1.96% of Lithia Motors worth $158,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth $125,214,000. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth about $58,409,000. Hook Mill Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,130,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 57.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 197,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,691,000 after buying an additional 72,061 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 6,341.6% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 57,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,157,000 after buying an additional 56,567 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total transaction of $72,186.80. Following the sale, the director owned 1,846 shares in the company, valued at $543,905.44. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,233.20. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 617 shares of company stock worth $174,966. 1.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LAD. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group began coverage on Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.11.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Lithia Motors stock opened at $288.89 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $239.78 and a 52-week high of $360.55. The firm has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a PE ratio of 10.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $275.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $298.51.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 8.01%.

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.