AGP Franklin LLC Increases Stock Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Key Points

• AGP Franklin LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 40.2% in the first quarter, buying an additional 4,187 shares and bringing its total to 14,597 shares worth about $3.65 million.
• Several other major institutional investors also increased holdings in NYSE:LAD, while analyst sentiment remains constructive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $368.11.
• Lithia Motors reported quarterly EPS of $7.34, topping estimates, and also raised its dividend and approved a $500 million share repurchase program, signaling management confidence in the stock.

AGP Franklin LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 40.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,597 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,187 shares during the period. Lithia Motors makes up about 1.8% of AGP Franklin LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. AGP Franklin LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Lithia Motors worth $3,645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Lithia Motors by 13.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,474 shares of the company's stock worth $2,487,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 67.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 113,346 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,272,000 after purchasing an additional 45,716 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 93,170 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,349,000 after purchasing an additional 13,407 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 16.2% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $821,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the period. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth about $651,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group began coverage on Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a "buy" rating and a $348.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut Lithia Motors from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $368.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 sale, the director owned 760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $213,233.20. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total value of $50,430.60. Following the sale, the director owned 1,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $513,780.84. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572. 1.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $296.23 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a market capitalization of $6.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $285.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $297.98. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $239.78 and a twelve month high of $360.55.

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

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 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. This is an increase from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.01%.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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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