Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) to Post Q3 2023 Earnings of $9.77 Per Share, Zacks Research Forecasts

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q3 2023 earnings per share estimates for Lithia Motors in a report issued on Thursday, September 14th. Zacks Research analyst R. Singhi now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $9.77 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $9.68. The consensus estimate for Lithia Motors’ current full-year earnings is $37.98 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Lithia Motors’ FY2023 earnings at $37.59 EPS, Q1 2024 earnings at $8.01 EPS, Q2 2024 earnings at $8.74 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $10.29 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $9.93 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $36.97 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $9.70 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $10.77 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $42.59 EPS.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $305.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. StockNews.com began coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Stephens upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $365.00 to $385.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Benchmark upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $375.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $245.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $338.10.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 3.8 %

NYSE:LAD opened at $293.84 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $306.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $263.83. Lithia Motors has a 12-month low of $180.00 and a 12-month high of $329.00. The firm has a market cap of $8.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.35, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The company reported $10.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.26 by $1.65. The business had revenue of $8.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.92 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 20.36% and a net margin of 3.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $12.18 earnings per share.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 11th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 10th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 5.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lithia Motors news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 8,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.47, for a total value of $2,719,163.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 248,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,707,851.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 5,000 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.59, for a total value of $1,552,950.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,807,822.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 8,815 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.47, for a total value of $2,719,163.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 248,672 shares in the company, valued at $76,707,851.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 43,131 shares of company stock valued at $13,303,956. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cooperman Leon G lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cooperman Leon G now owns 415,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,206,000 after purchasing an additional 4,247 shares in the last quarter. Hook Mill Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,576,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 4,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,481,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 95,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,948,000 after buying an additional 814 shares during the period. Finally, GTS Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,033,000.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc operates as an automotive retailer. The company operates through Domestic, Import, and Luxury segments. It offers new and used vehicles; vehicle financing services; warranties, insurance contracts, and vehicle and theft protection services; and automotive repair and maintenance services, as well as sells body and parts for the new vehicles under the Driveway and GreenCars brand names.