Analysts Set Expectations for Lithia Motors FY2026 Earnings

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research upped their FY2026 EPS estimates for Lithia Motors in a research note issued on Wednesday, November 4th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $35.65 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $35.18. The consensus estimate for Lithia Motors’ current full-year earnings is $35.78 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Lithia Motors’ Q4 2026 earnings at $7.94 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $8.98 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $10.10 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $10.41 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $9.76 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $39.24 EPS.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $490.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $305.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $306.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $393.80.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of LAD stock opened at $316.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.30. Lithia Motors has a twelve month low of $239.78 and a twelve month high of $439.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $317.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $307.44.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $10.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.70 by $0.64. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.05% and a net margin of 2.06%. The company had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.50 EPS. Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,311.1% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 68.0% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 32.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.73, for a total transaction of $27,804.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,300 shares in the company, valued at $852,679. This trade represents a 3.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 8.63%.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc is an automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Operating under the Lithia & Driveway name, the company sells new and used vehicles through a network of franchised dealerships and digital retail channels. Its dealerships represent a broad range of domestic, Asian and European automotive brands.

In addition to vehicle sales, Lithia provides related services including vehicle financing and insurance products, parts and maintenance, collision repair, and other after-sales support.