Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Increases Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Key Points

• Alyeska Investment Group increased its Lithia Motors stake by 39.9% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 29,270 shares valued at approximately $8.5 million. Several other major institutional investors, including BlackRock and Norges Bank, also initiated or expanded positions.
• Lithia Motors reported quarterly EPS of $10.03, beating estimates of $8.73, while revenue rose 2.2% year over year to $9.79 billion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.57 to $0.70 per share.
• The board authorized a $500 million share-repurchase program, allowing buybacks of up to 7.9% of outstanding shares. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $436.33.

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 39.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,270 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,350 shares during the quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned 0.13% of Lithia Motors worth $8,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter valued at about $696,482,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $125,214,000. Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at approximately $66,988,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the second quarter valued at approximately $63,015,000. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 742,677 shares of the company's stock valued at $246,814,000 after purchasing an additional 186,628 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $366.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.22. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $239.78 and a fifty-two week high of $439.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 1.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $345.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $301.93.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.73 by $1.30. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The company had revenue of $9.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $10.24 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

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

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $490.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $306.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $436.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at $513,780.84. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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