Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.61 EPS

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.25 earnings per share.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of Lithia Motors stock traded up $0.01 on Thursday, hitting $335.32. The stock had a trading volume of 450,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 256,718. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $299.06 and a 200 day moving average of $274.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.90, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.64. Lithia Motors has a twelve month low of $231.36 and a twelve month high of $341.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total value of $88,632.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at $556,707.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,754,677.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,021 shares of company stock worth $6,534,617 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Stephens lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $350.80.

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.

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