Harfst & Associates Inc. Trims Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Harfst & Associates Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 25,819 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,144 shares during the period. Lithia Motors accounts for 1.5% of Harfst & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $8,580,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Abrams Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,490,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $787,009,000 after buying an additional 45,856 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,340,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,662,000 after buying an additional 14,015 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 612,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,873,000 after buying an additional 33,966 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 426,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,654,000 after buying an additional 14,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $125,214,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total value of $72,186.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $543,905.44. This trade represents a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 760 shares in the company, valued at $213,233.20. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 617 shares of company stock worth $174,966 over the last ninety days. 1.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD opened at $295.71 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $272.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $298.60. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $239.78 and a 12-month high of $360.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a PE ratio of 10.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.26. 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 (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LAD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group began coverage on Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.11.

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.