Lithia Motors FY2027 EPS Estimate Raised by Zacks Research

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research upped their FY2027 earnings estimates for shares of Lithia Motors in a research note issued on Thursday, March 27th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the company will earn $45.22 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $43.24. The consensus estimate for Lithia Motors’ current full-year earnings is $34.45 per share.

LAD has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.91.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD stock opened at $293.24 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $339.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $343.49. The firm has a market cap of $7.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.88, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. Lithia Motors has a 1 year low of $243.00 and a 1 year high of $405.68.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 780 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total value of $80,676.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,213 shares in the company, valued at $362,444.40. This represents a 18.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total transaction of $154,864.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,049.40. This represents a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,246 shares of company stock valued at $433,724 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.14%.

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.