Prospera Financial Services Inc Grows Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 120.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,999 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,279 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $2,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 114.6% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 1,383.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 89 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 106.2% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the first quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.1% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LAD. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $399.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $317.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $380.11.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $293.06 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $318.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $318.52. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $262.10 and a 52 week high of $405.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.29.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.97. The company had revenue of $9.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.38 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 13.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.21 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.37%.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 26th that allows the company to repurchase $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.