Raymond James Financial Inc. Raises Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. has increased its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. by 10.9%, bringing its total holdings to 41,287 shares valued at approximately $12.1 million.
• Lithia Motors recently announced a $750 million stock buyback plan, allowing the company to repurchase up to 9% of its outstanding shares, indicating that the board believes its shares are currently undervalued.
• The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $10.24 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, and has set a price target consensus of $379.00 based on various analyst ratings.

Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,287 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,061 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.16% of Lithia Motors worth $12,119,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Abrams Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,444,678 shares of the company's stock worth $717,611,000 after purchasing an additional 53,490 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Lithia Motors by 6.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,267,519 shares of the company's stock valued at $372,053,000 after purchasing an additional 72,980 shares during the period. Steadfast Capital Management LP lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 9.9% during the first quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 280,456 shares of the company's stock worth $82,325,000 after buying an additional 25,331 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 256,979 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,852,000 after buying an additional 59,525 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 256 shares of the 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 directly owned 1,376 shares in the company, valued at $403,236.80. This represents a 15.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.87% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of Lithia Motors stock traded up $8.27 during trading on Thursday, hitting $340.03. 174,838 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 291,955. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $320.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $314.46. The stock has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.31. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $255.32 and a 12-month high of $405.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.78 by $0.46. The company 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, analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $750.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is presently 6.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on LAD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $315.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $430.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $340.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $378.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $364.00 to $317.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $380.91.

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.