Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Stock Holdings Lowered by Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC cut its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 70,397 shares of the company’s stock after selling 192 shares during the quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $22,361,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LAD. HighVista Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,906,000. Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 71.9% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 22,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,035,000 after buying an additional 9,265 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $967,000. Concentric Capital Strategies LP bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,210,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth $211,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD opened at $384.33 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $343.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $295.63. The firm has a market cap of $10.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.12, a P/E/G ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $405.67.

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

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,754,677.36. The trade was a 23.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total transaction of $6,127,965.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,408,369.28. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 58,067 shares of company stock worth $20,933,294. 1.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.