Natixis Advisors LLC Takes Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 82,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,071,000. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.31% of Lithia Motors at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versor Investments LP grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the second quarter valued at approximately $607,000. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 89.0% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 29,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,867,000 after buying an additional 13,875 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in Lithia Motors by 22.9% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 70,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,774,000 after acquiring an additional 13,126 shares during the period. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 118.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,609,000 after acquiring an additional 87,362 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $353.80.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $373.74 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $9.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 1.63. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.00 and a 52-week high of $388.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $321.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $286.43.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total value of $6,127,965.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,408,369.28. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the sale, the director now owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $13,417,080.94. This represents a 20.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,394 shares of company stock valued at $16,688,879. 1.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Lithia Motors

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.