Seaport Res Ptn Lowers Earnings Estimates for Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn reduced their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for Lithia Motors in a research report issued on Sunday, October 20th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst G. Chin now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $27.97 for the year, down from their prior estimate of $28.02. The consensus estimate for Lithia Motors' current full-year earnings is $28.74 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Lithia Motors' Q4 2024 earnings at $6.70 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $31.25 EPS.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.09 by $0.78. The company had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.29 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 2.52%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $10.91 EPS.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Stephens assumed coverage on Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $360.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim raised Lithia Motors from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $338.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $302.00 to $299.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $337.70.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.6 %

LAD opened at $304.71 on Wednesday. Lithia Motors has a twelve month low of $231.36 and a twelve month high of $331.96. The company's 50-day moving average price is $297.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $273.97. The stock has a market cap of $8.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.00, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% during the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $80,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value of $88,632.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $556,707.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total value of $3,472,286.68. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,417,080.94. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total value of $88,632.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $556,707.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,021 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,617 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.26%.

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.

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