Point72 DIFC Ltd Invests $143,000 in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in Lithia Motors by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 30,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,971,000 after acquiring an additional 2,601 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Lithia Motors by 989.5% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 15,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,946,000 after purchasing an additional 13,626 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Lithia Motors by 96.8% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 610 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 12,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,953,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at about $502,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at $9,754,677.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total transaction of $88,632.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,707.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,021 shares of company stock worth $6,534,617. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Stephens started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $360.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com lowered Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $338.00.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE LAD opened at $317.27 on Wednesday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.36 and a 52 week high of $331.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $285.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $272.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.37, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.64.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.09 by $0.78. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The business had revenue of $9.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $10.91 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.26%.

Lithia Motors 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.