Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) to Post Q1 2023 Earnings of $10.60 Per Share, Jefferies Financial Group Forecasts

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD – Get Rating) – Research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group reduced their Q1 2023 EPS estimates for shares of Lithia Motors in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group analyst B. Jordan now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $10.60 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $10.71. Jefferies Financial Group also issued estimates for Lithia Motors’ Q2 2023 earnings at $11.96 EPS, Q3 2023 earnings at $12.09 EPS, Q4 2023 earnings at $11.14 EPS and FY2023 earnings at $45.78 EPS.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 20th. The company reported $11.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $10.09 by $1.87. The company had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 28.66% and a net margin of 4.64%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 54.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.89 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Lithia Motors from $303.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 8th. StockNews.com started coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Lithia Motors from $362.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Lithia Motors from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 7th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research lowered Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $320.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, April 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $416.43.

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $289.32 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.98, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $317.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $308.92. Lithia Motors has a 52 week low of $274.03 and a 52 week high of $406.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 1.47.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 13th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 12th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.86%.

In other Lithia Motors news, SVP Tina Miller sold 900 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $283,500.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Louis Miramontes sold 250 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.03, for a total value of $80,257.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,162 shares of company stock valued at $6,713,805. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 20,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122 shares in the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the 1st quarter valued at $587,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 7,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,427,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 170,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,190,000 after buying an additional 21,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 13,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,995,000 after buying an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. 91.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Lithia Motors (Get Rating)

Lithia Motors, Inc operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Domestic, Import, and Luxury. 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 vehicle body and parts under the Driveway and GreenCars brand names.

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