9,836 Shares in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Bought by Jupiter Topco LLC

Key Points

• Jupiter Topco LLC bought 9,836 Lithia Motors shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $2.86 million. Other institutional investors also initiated or increased positions.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with six Buy ratings and five Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $436.33.
• Lithia exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $10.03 in EPS and $9.79 billion in revenue. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.70 and authorized a $500 million share-repurchase program.

Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 9,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,861,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 111.4% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 101.9% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LAD shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. UBS Group cut Lithia Motors from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $370.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $365.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Lithia Motors from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $436.33.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of LAD opened at $372.19 on Thursday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $239.78 and a 12 month high of $439.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $348.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $302.77. The company has a market cap of $8.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.23.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.73 by $1.30. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 1.88%.The company had revenue of $9.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $10.24 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This is a boost from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio is 9.29%.

Lithia Motors announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total value of $50,430.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,681 shares in the company, valued at $513,780.84. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors Profile

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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