Dean Capital Management Invests $1.52 Million in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Dean Capital Management bought a new stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,258 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,522,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at $91,190,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Lithia Motors by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 208,253 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,436,000 after acquiring an additional 2,108 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 497.7% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,676 shares of the company's stock worth $1,314,000 after acquiring an additional 3,061 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,073.7% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,770 shares of the company's stock worth $990,000 after purchasing an additional 2,534 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 95,899 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,261 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total transaction of $72,128.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $377,219.48. The trade was a 16.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total transaction of $80,676.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,444.40. This trade represents a 18.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,583 shares of company stock valued at $533,455 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.87% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on LAD. Citigroup upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the company from $415.00 to $375.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $361.20.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE:LAD traded up $2.79 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $306.54. 191,036 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 315,074. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $295.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $339.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.04 and a 52 week high of $405.68.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $7.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.77 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio is 6.93%.

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.