Seaport Res Ptn Lifts Earnings Estimates for Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) – Research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn raised their FY2025 earnings estimates for shares of Lithia Motors in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, January 16th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst G. Chin now forecasts that the company will earn $35.77 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $34.73. The consensus estimate for Lithia Motors’ current full-year earnings is $29.42 per share.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.25 earnings per share.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $343.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Stephens increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.40.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of LAD stock opened at $351.33 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Lithia Motors has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $405.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $367.93 and a 200 day moving average of $321.07. The stock has a market cap of $9.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.67.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 6,742 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,696,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,778,000. This trade represents a 3.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total value of $392,720.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,085,466.16. This trade represents a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 47,290 shares of company stock worth $17,959,596 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 14.7% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,390,000 after buying an additional 217,867 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,204,000 after acquiring an additional 85,579 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 27.5% during the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 365,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,997,000 after purchasing an additional 78,784 shares during the last quarter. Tensile Capital Management LP increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 2.4% in the third quarter. Tensile Capital Management LP now owns 261,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,071,000 after purchasing an additional 6,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 17.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 259,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,560,000 after purchasing an additional 37,677 shares in the last quarter.

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. Its Financing Operations segment provides financing to customers buying and leasing retail vehicles.