Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Shares Acquired by Abrams Capital Management L.P.

Abrams Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,490,534 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 45,856 shares during the period. Lithia Motors makes up approximately 12.8% of Abrams Capital Management L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Abrams Capital Management L.P. owned about 0.10% of Lithia Motors worth $787,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth $148,540,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,342,000. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 26.4% in the 2nd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 412,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,356,000 after purchasing an additional 86,121 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 57.5% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 197,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,691,000 after purchasing an additional 72,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 42.0% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 187,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,514,000 after buying an additional 55,631 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 1.5%

Lithia Motors stock opened at $305.45 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The company’s 50-day moving average is $331.45 and its 200-day moving average is $321.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.41 billion, a PE ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 1.20. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $262.10 and a fifty-two week high of $373.87.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $6.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.09 by ($1.35). The business had revenue of $9.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 2.18%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.79 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 6.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Lithia Motors from $358.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $388.90.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $27,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,810 shares in the company, valued at $651,600. The trade was a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.87% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Lithia Motors

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.