Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.46 EPS

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.46, Zacks reports. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 4.6 %

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $385.63 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $363.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $333.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 1.67. Lithia Motors has a 52-week low of $243.00 and a 52-week high of $405.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on LAD. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $343.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Lithia Motors from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,085,466.16. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total value of $92,652.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $661,964.94. This represents a 12.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,611 shares of company stock worth $7,716,702. Corporate 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. Its Financing Operations segment provides financing to customers buying and leasing retail vehicles.