Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.78 EPS

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $7.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.09 by $0.78, Briefing.com reports. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The company had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $10.91 earnings per share. Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE:LAD traded down $5.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $290.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 697,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 302,945. Lithia Motors has a 1 year low of $231.36 and a 1 year high of $331.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $257.10 and a 200-day moving average of $273.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAD has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Craig Hallum cut their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $313.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total value of $88,632.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,707.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.