Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.61 EPS

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 2.52%. Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.25 earnings per share.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of LAD stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $335.32. 450,299 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 256,718. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $299.06 and its 200-day moving average is $274.82. The company has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Lithia Motors has a fifty-two week low of $231.36 and a fifty-two week high of $341.84.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 6.26%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total value of $88,632.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,707.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total value of $88,632.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,707.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,021 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,617. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $350.80.

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. Its Financing Operations segment provides financing to customers buying and leasing retail vehicles.