Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Shares Acquired by Boothbay Fund Management LLC

by · The Markets Daily

Boothbay Fund Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD – Free Report) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,922 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,275 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $8,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 403 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.6% during the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 842 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 716 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 111.4% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.11.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Lithia Motors

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the sale, the director owned 760 shares in the company, valued at $213,233.20. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the sale, the director owned 1,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $513,780.84. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572. 1.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 4.8%

LAD opened at $292.60 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a PE ratio of 10.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $284.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $298.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $239.78 and a 12-month high of $360.55.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 8.01%.

Lithia Motors announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Profile

(Free Report)

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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