SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases 7,228 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 593.9% in Q4, adding 7,228 shares to hold 8,445 shares worth about $2.81 million.
• Lithia reported Q4 EPS of $6.74, missing the $8.09 consensus while revenue was roughly in line at $9.20 billion; the stock trades at a P/E of 7.84 with a market cap near $5.89 billion.
• Wall Street sentiment has cooled with several downgrades and a consensus target of $382.33, and the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.55 ($2.20 annualized, ~0.9% yield).

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 593.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,445 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,228 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $2,807,000 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. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,601,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 263,157 shares of the company's stock worth $83,158,000 after purchasing an additional 7,558 shares during the period. Abrams Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 1.9% during the third quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,490,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $787,009,000 after purchasing an additional 45,856 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the third quarter valued at about $557,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth about $548,000.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $251.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $284.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $308.59. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $6.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.09 by ($1.35). Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 12.76%. The company had revenue of $9.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.79 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on LAD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Lithia Motors from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $335.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Lithia Motors from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $382.33.

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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