NBC Securities Inc. Invests $59,000 in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LAD. Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in Lithia Motors by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Lithia Motors by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 1,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LAD. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $340.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup raised Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $415.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Lithia Motors from $417.00 to $356.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $362.40.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD stock opened at $336.56 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.04 and a 52-week high of $405.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $304.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $333.35. The company has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a PE ratio of 11.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.47.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $7.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.77 by ($0.11). Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.11 earnings per share. Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 6.93%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 337 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.94, for a total value of $99,731.78. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,632 shares in the company, valued at $482,974.08. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors 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.