Point72 DIFC Ltd Invests $143,000 in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $975,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 12.8% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 459 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings 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. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 13.3% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 554 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $663,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $13,417,080.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total transaction of $88,632.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at $556,707.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total value of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,417,080.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,021 shares of company stock worth $6,534,617 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $338.00.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $317.27 on Wednesday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.36 and a 12-month high of $331.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.37, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $285.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price 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. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 2.52%. The firm had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $10.91 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.26%.

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.