Engineers Gate Manager LP Acquires 28,300 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Key Points

• Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 86.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 28,300 additional shares to bring its total holdings to 60,909 shares valued at about $20.24 million.
• Lithia Motors reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $7.34 versus the $7.06 estimate and revenue of $9.27 billion, while revenue rose 1% year over year.
• The company authorized a $500 million share buyback and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.57 per share, even as several insiders sold shares and analysts maintained a Moderate Buy consensus rating.

Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 86.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 60,909 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 28,300 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP owned about 0.25% of Lithia Motors worth $20,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LAD. Abrams Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,490,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $787,009,000 after acquiring an additional 45,856 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,346,783 shares of the company's stock valued at $447,583,000 after acquiring an additional 6,113 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 612,377 shares of the company's stock valued at $206,873,000 after acquiring an additional 33,966 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 426,120 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,654,000 after acquiring an additional 14,781 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at $125,214,000.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 4.8%

Shares of LAD opened at $292.60 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $284.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $298.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $239.78 and a 1 year high of $360.55.

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

Lithia Motors declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is presently 8.01%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total transaction of $72,186.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $543,905.44. The trade was a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 760 shares in the company, valued at $213,233.20. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $348.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Lithia Motors from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $368.11.

Lithia Motors Company 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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