Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 43,087 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its Lithia Motors stake by 3.2% in the first quarter, buying 43,087 additional shares and ending with 1,389,870 shares worth about $347.1 million.
• Lithia Motors reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $7.34 versus the $7.06 consensus and revenue of $9.27 billion, while analysts now expect full-year EPS of 34.19.
• The company authorized a $500 million stock buyback and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.57 from $0.55, while analysts currently maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $380.33.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,389,870 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 43,087 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 5.94% of Lithia Motors worth $347,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth about $125,214,000. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 742,677 shares of the company's stock valued at $246,814,000 after acquiring an additional 186,628 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth about $58,409,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 8,474.0% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 107,690 shares of the company's stock worth $35,789,000 after acquiring an additional 106,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 183.6% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 162,937 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,149,000 after purchasing an additional 105,478 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the 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 transaction, the director directly owned 1,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at $543,905.44. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the sale, the director owned 760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $213,233.20. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572. Insiders own 1.08% of the company's stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 1.6%

LAD opened at $330.44 on Wednesday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $239.78 and a 1-year high of $360.55. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $298.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $293.73. 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 stock has a market cap of $7.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.26.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.28. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.66 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This is an increase from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lithia Motors from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America lifted their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $380.33.

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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