Stifel Financial Corp Raises Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 122.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,265 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,490 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.06% of Lithia Motors worth $5,484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 1.3% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $975,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP raised its position in Lithia Motors by 7.0% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 83.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total value of $92,652.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $661,964.94. The trade was a 12.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total value of $2,855,989.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 32,054 shares in the company, valued at $10,744,821.34. This represents a 21.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,290 shares of company stock worth $17,959,596 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:LAD opened at $380.57 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.00 and a 1 year high of $405.67. The stock has a market cap of $10.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.99, a P/E/G ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $353.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $302.07.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.25 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on LAD. Stephens increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.60.

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.