HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Purchases 105,611 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 5,233.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 107,629 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 105,611 shares during the period. Lithia Motors accounts for approximately 3.9% of HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $34,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LAD. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 83.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $80,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LAD. 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 report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.60.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total transaction of $6,127,965.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,408,369.28. The trade was a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total transaction of $2,855,989.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 32,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,744,821.34. This represents a 21.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 58,067 shares of company stock valued at $20,933,294. 1.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE LAD opened at $387.30 on Tuesday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.00 and a 52-week high of $405.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.22, a P/E/G ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 1.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $341.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $294.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.24%.

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.