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

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.25 earnings per share.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.0 %

LAD stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Thursday, hitting $335.32. The company had a trading volume of 450,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 256,718. The stock has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.90, a PEG ratio of 0.30 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. Lithia Motors has a 12 month low of $231.36 and a 12 month high of $341.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $299.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $274.82.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 6.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LAD shares. Bank of America increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $350.80.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $556,707.30. 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. In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,417,080.94. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total transaction of $88,632.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at $556,707.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,021 shares of company stock worth $6,534,617 in the last quarter. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.