Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Increases Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,085 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $7,246,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Denali Advisors LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 5,050.0% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 80.2% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Lithia Motors in the 1st quarter valued at about $114,000.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 138 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.42, for a total value of $35,109.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,228 shares in the company, valued at $566,847.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on LAD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $290.00 to $248.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Craig Hallum decreased their price target on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $319.45.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE:LAD traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $259.11. 8,370 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 236,128. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $257.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $278.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.36 and a twelve month high of $331.96.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $6.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.85 by ($1.74). The firm had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 15.62% and a net margin of 2.87%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.44 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 6.26%.

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.