Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $1.74 EPS

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $6.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.85 by ($1.74), Briefing.com reports. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 3.22%. The company had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.44 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:LAD traded up $3.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $251.80. 207,903 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 214,848. Lithia Motors has a fifty-two week low of $206.69 and a fifty-two week high of $331.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.88, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $284.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $283.85.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 135 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.84, for a total value of $40,208.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,010.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $290.00 to $248.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $327.90.

Lithia Motors Company 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.