Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Cuts Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lowered its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 53.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,068 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,090 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $2,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Lithia Motors by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 403 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in Lithia Motors by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 842 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in Lithia Motors by 111.4% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in Lithia Motors by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 7,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,525,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $288.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $275.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $298.42. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $239.78 and a twelve month high of $360.55. The company has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.26.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors announced that its board has initiated 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 believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 8.01%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 760 shares in the company, valued at $213,233.20. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total transaction of $72,186.80. Following the sale, the director owned 1,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $543,905.44. This trade represents a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 617 shares of company stock valued at $174,966. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LAD shares. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price objective for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.11.

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.