Scientech Research LLC Increases Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Scientech Research LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 41.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,364 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 401 shares during the period. Scientech Research LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $344,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 80.2% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at about $80,000.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE LAD opened at $317.64 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $8.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.64. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $231.36 and a 12 month high of $331.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $285.94 and a 200-day moving average of $272.14.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.09 by $0.78. The firm had revenue of $9.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.29 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $10.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.26%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at $9,754,677.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,417,080.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,021 shares of company stock worth $6,534,617. 1.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LAD. Guggenheim raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $338.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com cut Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $360.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $338.00.

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.