Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Position Cut by Harfst & Associates Inc.

Harfst & Associates Inc. lowered its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 9.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 21,301 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,224 shares during the quarter. Lithia Motors accounts for about 1.2% of Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $6,216,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LAD. Rare Wolf Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rare Wolf Capital LLC now owns 7,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,269,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 6.1% in the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.4% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at about $230,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 145.1% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 424 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $490.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $455.00 to $409.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Benchmark boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Lithia Motors from $415.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $402.60.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Lithia Motors stock opened at $299.93 on Wednesday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $239.78 and a 52 week high of $439.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $335.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $314.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a PE ratio of 9.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.27.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.73 by $1.30. The firm had revenue of $9.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.64 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 1.88%. Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $10.24 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 35.60 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 9.29%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.73, for a total transaction of $27,804.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $852,679. This trade represents a 3.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lithia Motors Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc is an automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Operating under the Lithia & Driveway name, the company sells new and used vehicles through a network of franchised dealerships and digital retail channels. Its dealerships represent a broad range of domestic, Asian and European automotive brands.

In addition to vehicle sales, Lithia provides related services including vehicle financing and insurance products, parts and maintenance, collision repair, and other after-sales support.