Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.64 EPS

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $10.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.70 by $0.64, Zacks reports. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The company had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.75 billion.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD stock opened at $299.93 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.95, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $335.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $314.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 1.00. Lithia Motors has a 52-week low of $239.78 and a 52-week high of $439.49.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 9.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on LAD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Lithia Motors from $340.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Lithia Motors from $358.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $306.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $402.60.

Key Stories Impacting Lithia Motors

Here are the key news stories impacting Lithia Motors this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue reached approximately $9.9 billion to $9.95 billion, above the FactSet consensus estimate of $9.75 billion. Lithia & Driveway Q3 Revenue Earnings Flash
• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted earnings per share were $10.34, beating the $9.70 consensus by $0.64. Diluted EPS was $13.22, up 54% year over year, while adjusted diluted EPS increased 9%. Lithia & Driveway Q3 Adjusted EPS Earnings Flash
• Positive Sentiment: Used-vehicle retail gross profit per unit increased 11% year over year, while aftersales gross profit rose 2.4% and same-store aftersales gross margin expanded 100 basis points to 59.5%. These trends indicate continued strength in key higher-margin operations. Lithia & Driveway Third Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Financing Operations income climbed 69% to $32.3 million, supported by record originations of $937 million and an 18.3% penetration rate.
• Positive Sentiment: Lithia repurchased $85 million of stock during the quarter—1.1% of shares outstanding—and raised its quarterly dividend by 7%, enhancing shareholder returns.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.73, for a total value of $27,804.75. Following the sale, the director owned 2,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $852,679. The trade was a 3.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc is an automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Operating under the Lithia & Driveway name, the company sells new and used vehicles through a network of franchised dealerships and digital retail channels. Its dealerships represent a broad range of domestic, Asian and European automotive brands.

In addition to vehicle sales, Lithia provides related services including vehicle financing and insurance products, parts and maintenance, collision repair, and other after-sales support.