Bridge City Capital LLC Buys 4,768 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Key Points

• Bridge City Capital increased its Lithia Motors stake by 21% in the third quarter, adding 4,768 shares to own 27,424 shares valued at approximately $8.0 million.
• Lithia Motors reported quarterly EPS of $10.34, exceeding estimates of $9.70, while revenue rose 2.8% year over year to $9.95 billion. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $393.80.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.70 to $0.75 per share, equivalent to a $3.00 annualized payout and a 1.0% yield.

Bridge City Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 21.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 27,424 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,768 shares during the quarter. Lithia Motors makes up 1.7% of Bridge City Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Bridge City Capital LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Lithia Motors worth $8,003,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Lithia Motors by 1,311.1% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 127 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Lithia Motors by 68.0% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 173 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 32.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 173 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on LAD shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $306.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Lithia Motors from $358.00 to $310.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $393.80.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD opened at $299.30 on Monday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $322.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $307.92. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $239.78 and a 12 month high of $439.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.30.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $10.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.70 by $0.64. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.05% and a net margin of 2.06%. The company had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.50 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 35.78 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is presently 8.06%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.73, for a total transaction of $27,804.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $852,679. This represents a 3.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company's stock.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc is an automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Operating under the Lithia & Driveway name, the company sells new and used vehicles through a network of franchised dealerships and digital retail channels. Its dealerships represent a broad range of domestic, Asian and European automotive brands.

In addition to vehicle sales, Lithia provides related services including vehicle financing and insurance products, parts and maintenance, collision repair, and other after-sales support.

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