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

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

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.7 %

LAD stock traded down $2.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $333.10. The company had a trading volume of 325,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 257,049. The stock has a market cap of $9.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $299.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $275.20. Lithia Motors has a 12 month low of $233.88 and a 12 month high of $341.84.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 6.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $350.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total value of $2,855,989.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 32,054 shares in the company, valued at $10,744,821.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total value of $2,855,989.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares in the company, valued at $10,744,821.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total transaction of $88,632.90. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,541 shares of company stock valued at $9,390,606. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

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