CenterBook Partners LP Buys New Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,642,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 122.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 17,265 shares of the company's stock worth $5,484,000 after acquiring an additional 9,490 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 2.6% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,911 shares of the company's stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at $223,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth about $217,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 3,927 shares of the company's stock worth $1,247,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $365.91.

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Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of LAD stock traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $290.90. 178,143 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 384,163. The company has a market capitalization of $7.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.80, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.61. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $321.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $342.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. Research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,001,049.40. This trade represents a 13.40 % 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, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at $645,786.90. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,246 shares of company stock worth $433,724 in the last three months. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Lithia Motors

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.