Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,468 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LAD. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 5,050.0% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 103 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 80.2% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth approximately $67,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the first quarter worth approximately $114,000.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of LAD stock traded down $4.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $247.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 46,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 235,480. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.36 and a 52 week high of $331.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $257.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $280.94. The company has a market cap of $6.78 billion, a PE ratio of 7.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.63.

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

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Craig Hallum decreased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $270.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $319.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.42, for a total value of $35,109.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $566,847.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

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.