Lithia Motors (LAD) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) will be announcing its earnings results before the market opens on Wednesday, April 17th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $8.06 per share for the quarter. Investors that wish to listen to the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $8.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.11 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.95 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 3.22% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.05 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Lithia Motors to post $35 EPS for the current fiscal year and $41 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $258.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.58. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $289.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $284.86. Lithia Motors has a twelve month low of $205.97 and a twelve month high of $331.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 9th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 135 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.84, for a total value of $40,208.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,010.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth about $65,185,000. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 114.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 463,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,949,000 after purchasing an additional 247,174 shares during the last quarter. MFN Partners Management LP increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 43.0% during the 1st quarter. MFN Partners Management LP now owns 751,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,413,000 after purchasing an additional 225,806 shares during the last quarter. Eaton Vance Management increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 37,874.1% during the 1st quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 171,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,400,000 after purchasing an additional 170,812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eventide Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 94.6% during the 2nd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 244,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,288,000 after purchasing an additional 118,781 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LAD. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $336.90.

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.