Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Shares Acquired by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 46.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 75,984 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,258 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.29% of Lithia Motors worth $24,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LAD. Versor Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 7.0% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 856 shares of the company's stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 22.9% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 70,405 shares of the company's stock worth $17,774,000 after acquiring an additional 13,126 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 118.9% during the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,860 shares of the company's stock worth $40,609,000 after purchasing an additional 87,362 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 46.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 10,496 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,650,000 after buying an additional 3,313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth $731,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens increased 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. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $357.60.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of Lithia Motors stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $380.57. The stock had a trading volume of 268,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 260,573. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $405.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a PE ratio of 12.99, a PEG ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.65. The stock's 50 day moving average is $353.97 and its 200 day moving average is $302.46.

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

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total transaction of $392,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,085,466.16. This represents a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total value of $6,127,965.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $80,408,369.28. This represents a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,290 shares of company stock worth $17,959,596 over the last quarter. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.