United Services Automobile Association Makes New Investment in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association acquired 1,664 shares of Lithia Motors, valued at approximately $482,000, marking a new position in the company.
• Lithia Motors reported a Q2 earnings per share of $10.24, exceeding analysts' estimates of $9.78, alongside a revenue of $9.58 billion.
• The company announced a $750 million share buyback plan that allows for the repurchase of up to 9% of its stock, signaling confidence in its market value.

United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,664 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $482,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 780 shares of the company's stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,421 shares of the company's stock worth $711,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 212 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 844 shares of the company's stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the company's stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 256 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.05, for a total transaction of $75,020.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at $403,236.80. This trade represents a 15.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.87% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $378.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $340.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $383.00 to $380.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $315.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $370.45.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE:LAD traded down $1.94 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $328.37. The stock had a trading volume of 26,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 333,088. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.74, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.31. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $319.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $313.22. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $262.10 and a 1-year high of $405.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.78 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 13.21%. The company had revenue of $9.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.56 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $750.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is presently 6.52%.

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.