Wexford Capital LP Makes New $507,000 Investment in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,597 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $507,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 83.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at $80,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LAD. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Stephens upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $357.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total transaction of $92,652.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $661,964.94. The trade was a 12.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 6,742 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,696,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,778,000. This trade represents a 3.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,067 shares of company stock worth $20,933,294 over the last three months. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAD traded up $1.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $377.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 153,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 288,735. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $347.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $297.56. The company has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.90, a P/E/G ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $405.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.25 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio is 7.24%.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

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.