Bridgefront Capital LLC Invests $256,000 in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD – Get Rating) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LAD. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 2.8% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 3,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,080,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 41.1% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.0% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $902,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 8.4% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 16,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 34.1% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:LAD opened at $215.05 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $251.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.76. The company has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a PE ratio of 4.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.41. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.00 and a 12 month high of $341.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 15th. The company reported $9.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.11 by ($1.06). The business had revenue of $6.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.08 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 25.41% and a net margin of 4.43%. The company’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $11.39 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 35.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.81%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 167 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $43,420.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $434,720. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LAD shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Tuesday, December 13th. TheStreet raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $200.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 17th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $301.89.

Lithia Motors Profile

(Get Rating)

Lithia Motors, Inc engages in the operation of automotive franchises and retail of new and used vehicles. It operates through the following segments: Domestic, Import and Luxury. The Domestic segment consists of retail automotive franchises that sell new vehicles manufactured by Chrysler, General Motors, and Ford.