Wall Street analysts expect Lithia Motors Inc (NYSE:LAD) to announce earnings of $2.30 per share for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks. Four analysts have provided estimates for Lithia Motors’ earnings. The lowest EPS estimate is $2.19 and the highest is $2.46. Lithia Motors reported earnings per share of $2.06 during the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year-over-year growth rate of 11.7%. The company is expected to issue its next earnings results on Thursday, October 19th.
According to Zacks, analysts expect that Lithia Motors will report full-year earnings of $8.41 per share for the current financial year, with EPS estimates ranging from $8.30 to $8.50. For the next financial year, analysts expect that the company will post earnings of $8.82 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $8.10 to $9.45. Zacks Investment Research’s EPS calculations are a mean average based on a survey of research firms that cover Lithia Motors.
Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 28th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.05. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 22.02% and a net margin of 2.16%. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year.
A number of research analysts have weighed in on LAD shares. Jefferies Group LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $116.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday. BidaskClub raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 5th. Seaport Global Securities started coverage on Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, June 14th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Zacks Investment Research lowered Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.17.
In other news, Director Susan O. Cain sold 2,317 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.49, for a total transaction of $214,299.33. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,132,262.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 81,444 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.39, for a total value of $8,094,719.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 48,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,837,112.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 210,613 shares of company stock worth $21,060,354. Corporate insiders own 7.85% of the company’s stock.
Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 152,203.5% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,901,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,504,000 after buying an additional 2,899,477 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 5.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,040,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,751,000 after buying an additional 107,578 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 10.4% in the first quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,466,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,617,000 after buying an additional 138,376 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 17.4% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,175,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,682,000 after buying an additional 174,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 14.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 922,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,019,000 after buying an additional 113,357 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.10% of the company’s stock.
Shares of Lithia Motors (NYSE LAD) traded up 2.81% during trading on Friday, reaching $102.62. The company had a trading volume of 251,869 shares. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37 and a beta of 1.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $95.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.79. Lithia Motors has a 12 month low of $75.85 and a 12 month high of $109.42.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.01%.
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Lithia Motors Company Profile
Lithia Motors, Inc is an operator of automotive franchises and a retailer of new and used vehicles and related services. As of February 28, 2017, it offered 30 brands of new vehicles and all brands of used vehicles in 154 stores in the United States and online at Lithia.com, DCHauto.com and CarboneCars.com.
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