Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Shares Acquired by Abrams Capital Management L.P.

Key Points

• Abrams Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 2.2%, making it the fund's second biggest holding, with around 9.39% ownership valued at $717.6 million.
• Analysts have updated their price targets for Lithia Motors, with Bank of America raising it to $500, while JPMorgan Chase lowered theirs to $315, contributing to an overall consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Lithia Motors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55, with a yield of 0.7%, set to be paid out on August 22nd to investors of record on August 8th.

Abrams Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,444,678 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 53,490 shares during the period. Lithia Motors comprises approximately 12.6% of Abrams Capital Management L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Abrams Capital Management L.P. owned about 9.39% of Lithia Motors worth $717,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Steadfast Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 137.8% during the fourth quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 460,298 shares of the company's stock worth $164,524,000 after purchasing an additional 266,715 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the first quarter valued at about $36,762,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1,865.4% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 92,293 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,092,000 after buying an additional 87,597 shares during the last quarter. Advent International L.P. raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 52.9% during the fourth quarter. Advent International L.P. now owns 217,151 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,616,000 after buying an additional 75,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 44,194.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 73,972 shares of the company's stock worth $21,714,000 after buying an additional 73,805 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 256 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.05, for a total value of $75,020.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $403,236.80. The trade was a 15.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Lithia Motors from $364.00 to $317.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $417.00 to $356.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $378.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $315.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $430.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $376.60.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD traded down $0.61 on Friday, reaching $292.21. The company had a trading volume of 253,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 341,210. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $255.32 and a one year high of $405.67. The company has a market capitalization of $7.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.66, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day moving average of $323.81 and a 200-day moving average of $321.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.78 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $9.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.56 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 2.39%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.52%.

Lithia Motors Company 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.