Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Shares Sold by SG Americas Securities LLC

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC cut its Lithia Motors stake by 76.6% in the first quarter, selling 6,468 shares and leaving it with 1,977 shares valued at about $494,000.
• Lithia Motors reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $7.34 versus the $7.06 consensus and revenue of $9.27 billion, while also lifting its quarterly dividend to $0.57 per share.
• The company’s board also authorized a $500 million share buyback, equal to about 7.9% of outstanding stock, even as the shares traded down 2.5% and analysts maintained a moderate buy outlook.

SG Americas Securities LLC decreased its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 76.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,977 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,468 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $494,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 106.7% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 337 shares of the company's stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at $265,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 87.2% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,351 shares of the company's stock worth $781,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 225.5% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 166 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arwa LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth $467,000.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of LAD stock opened at $303.95 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $291.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $294.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.26. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $239.78 and a fifty-two week high of $360.55. 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 (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.66 earnings per share. Lithia Motors's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at $513,780.84. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,233.20. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 782 shares of company stock valued at $229,572. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LAD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lithia Motors from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $305.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $368.22.

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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