Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $7.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.09 by $0.78, Briefing.com reports. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The business had revenue of $9.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $10.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 1.8 %

LAD traded down $5.37 during trading on Friday, reaching $290.07. 697,207 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 302,945. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $257.10 and its 200 day moving average is $273.75. Lithia Motors has a 12 month low of $231.36 and a 12 month high of $331.96.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on LAD. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, June 10th. Craig Hallum lowered their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $313.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,707.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

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.