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

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $6.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.85 by ($1.74), Briefing.com reports. The firm 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 was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.44 earnings per share.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 1.6 %

LAD stock traded up $3.97 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $252.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 230,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 215,278. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $284.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $283.85. Lithia Motors has a 1 year low of $206.69 and a 1 year high of $331.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.88, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.58.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 owns 1,662 shares in the company, valued at $495,010.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on LAD. Bank of America increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $327.90.

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.