Seaport Res Ptn Weighs in on Lithia Motors FY2024 Earnings

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) – 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.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com downgraded Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Stephens lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $350.80.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Lithia Motors stock opened at $335.32 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Lithia Motors has a one year low of $231.36 and a one year high of $341.84. 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $299.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $274.82.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 2.52%. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.25 earnings per share. Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 6.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the business’s 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 sale, 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total value of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $13,417,080.94. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,021 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,617. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,390,000 after buying an additional 217,867 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,621,000 after buying an additional 203,543 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 118.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,609,000 after buying an additional 87,362 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 413.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 65,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,450,000 after buying an additional 52,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 727,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,981,000 after buying an additional 48,938 shares during the last quarter.

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.