Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.46 EPS

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46, Zacks reports. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 4.6 %

Lithia Motors stock opened at $385.63 on Thursday. Lithia Motors has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $405.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.16, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $363.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $333.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In related news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total transaction of $92,652.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $661,964.94. This trade represents a 12.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total value of $392,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at $4,085,466.16. This trade represents a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,611 shares of company stock valued at $7,716,702 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LAD. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $343.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Lithia Motors from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Benchmark began coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.40.

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.