PDT Partners LLC Invests $407,000 in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

PDT Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $407,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 111.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 101.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $513,780.84. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $372.07 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $342.81 and a 200-day moving average of $301.37. The company has a market cap of $8.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $239.78 and a 52 week high of $439.49.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.73 by $1.30. The company had revenue of $9.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.16%. Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $10.24 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LAD shares. UBS Group cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $370.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $490.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $436.33.

Lithia Motors Profile

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.