Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $1.74 EPS

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $6.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.85 by ($1.74), Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 15.59% and a net margin of 2.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.44 EPS.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 2.2 %

LAD stock traded up $5.73 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $263.46. The stock had a trading volume of 94,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 220,612. The firm has a market cap of $7.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $284.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $283.85. Lithia Motors has a 52-week low of $206.69 and a 52-week high of $331.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 5.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $375.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Craig Hallum dropped their target price on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup dropped their target price on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $320.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 135 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.84, for a total value of $40,208.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,010.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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.