Seaport Res Ptn Boosts Earnings Estimates for Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) – Research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn raised their FY2025 EPS estimates for shares of Lithia Motors in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, November 10th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst G. Chin now expects that the company will earn $35.76 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $35.01. The consensus estimate for Lithia Motors’ current full-year earnings is $34.45 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Lithia Motors’ Q4 2025 earnings at $8.37 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $39.09 EPS.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on LAD. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $317.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $399.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $383.10.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $300.19 on Wednesday. Lithia Motors has a fifty-two week low of $262.10 and a fifty-two week high of $405.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.69, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $318.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $318.40.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.97. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 13.42%. The business had revenue of $9.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.21 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 114.6% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,383.3% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 89 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000.

Lithia Motors announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 26th that permits the company to buyback $750.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 6.37%.

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. Its Financing Operations segment provides financing to customers buying and leasing retail vehicles.