Red Spruce Capital LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Red Spruce Capital LLC cut its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,195 shares of the company’s stock after selling 430 shares during the period. Lithia Motors makes up 1.2% of Red Spruce Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Red Spruce Capital LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $2,603,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 80.2% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted 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 worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth about $80,000.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAD traded up $7.47 on Friday, hitting $310.50. The company had a trading volume of 227,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 255,789. The company has a market cap of $8.51 billion, a PE ratio of 9.17, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.64. The business has a 50 day moving average of $290.29 and a 200 day moving average of $273.03. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.36 and a 52-week high of $331.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

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 company had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.29 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $10.91 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.26%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,417,080.94. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,417,080.94. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $556,707.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,021 shares of company stock worth $6,534,617 over the last quarter. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $338.00.

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.