Lithia Motors FY2027 EPS Forecast Raised by Zacks Research

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research upped their FY2027 earnings per share estimates for Lithia Motors in a report released on Thursday, March 27th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the company will post earnings of $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.

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

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on LAD. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.91.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $296.04 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $337.86 and its 200-day moving average is $343.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. Lithia Motors has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $405.68. The company has a market capitalization of $7.78 billion, a PE ratio of 9.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total transaction of $72,128.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,219.48. The trade was a 16.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. This trade represents a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,246 shares of company stock valued at $433,724 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,204,000 after acquiring an additional 85,579 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 15.3% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.0% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,844,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 68,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,742,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter.

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.