7,000 Shares in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in Lithia Motors, buying 7,000 shares valued at about $1.75 million in the first quarter.
• Lithia Motors recently authorized a $500 million stock buyback, allowing it to repurchase up to 7.9% of its shares, and also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.57 per share.
• The company reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $7.34 topping estimates and revenue of $9.27 billion slightly above forecasts; analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with a consensus target of $368.11.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 7,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,748,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 111.4% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 101.9% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, eCIO Inc. bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,681 shares in the company, valued at $513,780.84. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 760 shares in the company, valued at $213,233.20. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 782 shares of company stock valued at $229,572. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.4%

Lithia Motors stock opened at $290.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.99. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $239.78 and a fifty-two week high of $360.55. The stock has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.19, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.26. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $288.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $296.47.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.The business had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This is an increase from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is 8.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $348.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Lithia Motors from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Lithia Motors from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $368.11.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company's core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.

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