Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $1.74 EPS

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $6.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.85 by ($1.74), Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 3.22% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.44 EPS.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of LAD stock traded up $3.97 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $252.31. The company had a trading volume of 230,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 215,278. The company has a market cap of $6.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Lithia Motors has a 12 month low of $206.69 and a 12 month high of $331.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $284.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $283.85.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 5.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LAD shares. StockNews.com cut Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Lithia Motors from $290.00 to $248.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $327.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 135 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.84, for a total transaction of $40,208.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,010.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.