Everence Capital Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 650 Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the third quarter valued at $35,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 49.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth approximately $80,000.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 6,742 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,696,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,778,000. The trade was a 3.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total transaction of $92,652.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $661,964.94. The trade was a 12.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 47,290 shares of company stock worth $17,959,596. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LAD. StockNews.com downgraded Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $361.45.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD stock opened at $348.34 on Thursday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.00 and a 1 year high of $405.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $368.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $314.91.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.25 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.24%.

Lithia Motors Company 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.