Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 154,969 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors cut its Lithia Motors position by 98.2% in the first quarter, selling 154,969 shares and retaining 2,880 shares valued at approximately $719,000.
• Lithia Motors beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $10.03 EPS versus the $8.73 consensus and $9.79 billion in revenue. Shares opened at $379.91, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $430.22.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.70 per share and authorized a $500 million share-repurchase plan, allowing buybacks of up to 7.9% of outstanding shares.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 98.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,880 shares of the company's stock after selling 154,969 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 984 shares of the company's stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 842 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 4,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,534,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 716 shares of the company's stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $379.91 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $324.03 and a 200-day moving average of $297.56. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $239.78 and a fifty-two week high of $439.49. The stock has a market cap of $8.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.73 by $1.30. The company had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.64 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 1.88%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $10.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 35.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This is an increase from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is currently 9.29%.

Lithia Motors announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lithia Motors from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research raised Lithia Motors from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $430.22.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total value of $50,430.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,681 shares in the company, valued at $513,780.84. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 owned 760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $213,233.20. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 537 shares of company stock worth $157,385 over the last ninety days. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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