Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Grows Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors, owning 1.45% of the company after purchasing an additional 30,420 shares, valuing their total holding at approximately $110.5 million.
• Lithia Motors reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $10.24, exceeding analysts' expectations, and achieved revenue of $9.58 billion for the quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55, reflecting a 0.7% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 6.52%.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 8.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 376,467 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,420 shares during the quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.45% of Lithia Motors worth $110,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LAD. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $59,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 63.7% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 203 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 30.1% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 212 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 50.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 252 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the first quarter valued at $143,000.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD opened at $326.8080 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.29. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $255.32 and a one year high of $405.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.69, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $320.01 and a 200 day moving average of $317.18.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.78 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 2.39%.The company had revenue of $9.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.56 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is presently 6.52%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 256 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.05, for a total value of $75,020.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at $403,236.80. The trade was a 15.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $378.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $430.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Lithia Motors in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $340.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Lithia Motors from $383.00 to $380.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Lithia Motors from $364.00 to $317.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $379.00.

Lithia Motors Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc operates as an automotive retailer worldwide. It operates in two segments, Vehicle Operations and Financing Operations. The company's Vehicle Operations segment sells new and used vehicles; provides parts, repair, and maintenance services; vehicle finance; and insurance products. Its Financing Operations segment provides financing to customers buying and leasing retail vehicles.

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