Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Acquires 3,449 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 16.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 24,835 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,449 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $8,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 95.1% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,319,000 after buying an additional 3,851 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.3% in the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 1,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.4% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 119,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,068,000 after purchasing an additional 5,005 shares during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the first quarter valued at about $207,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 10.9% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 41,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,119,000 after purchasing an additional 4,061 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total transaction of $27,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $651,600. This trade represents a 3.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD opened at $346.59 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $312.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $320.00. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $262.10 and a 52 week high of $405.14.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.42% and a net margin of 2.39%.The business had revenue of $9.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.21 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 26th that permits the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 6.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $317.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $389.10.

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.