Caxton Associates LLP Purchases Shares of 3,340 Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Key Points

• Caxton Associates purchased 3,340 shares of Lithia Motors in the first quarter, valued at approximately $834,000. Several other institutional investors also increased their positions.
• Lithia Motors reported quarterly EPS of $7.34, beating estimates of $7.06, while revenue reached $9.27 billion, up 1% year over year. The board also authorized a $500 million share buyback, representing up to 7.9% of outstanding shares.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with eight Buy ratings and four Holds; the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with a $380.33 target price. Shares recently opened at $341.04, near their 52-week high of $360.55.

Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,340 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $834,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LAD. Inceptionr LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 90.2% in the first quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 2,904 shares of the company's stock valued at $725,000 after purchasing an additional 1,377 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 48.1% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 142,812 shares of the company's stock worth $35,663,000 after buying an additional 46,391 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,429 shares of the company's stock worth $1,855,000 after buying an additional 813 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,389,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $347,074,000 after buying an additional 43,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 68.0% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 173 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $341.04 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $302.18 and a 200-day moving average of $293.89. The company has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $239.78 and a 52 week high of $360.55.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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%. Lithia Motors's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $7.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the transaction, the director owned 760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $213,233.20. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total value of $72,186.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $543,905.44. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Lithia Motors from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $305.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $380.33.

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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