First Eagle Investment Management LLC Has $635,000 Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 52.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,879 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LAD. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 114.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 1,383.3% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 89 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 106.2% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the first quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.1% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LAD. Weiss Ratings cut Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $317.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $380.11.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:LAD opened at $293.61 on Monday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $262.10 and a 12-month high of $405.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $320.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $318.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.29.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.97. The company had revenue of $9.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.38 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.42% and a net margin of 2.39%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.21 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.37%.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 26th that permits the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.