Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• Lithia Motors reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $9.50, exceeding analyst expectations by $0.51, and experienced a revenue increase of 4.9% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.20 and a dividend yield of 0.7%.
• Lithia Motors has also approved a share repurchase plan allowing for the repurchase of up to $750 million in shares, indicating confidence from its board in the stock's valuations.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $9.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.97, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $9.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.38 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 13.21%. The company's revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.21 earnings per share.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD traded down $3.55 on Wednesday, reaching $308.32. The company had a trading volume of 610,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 327,467. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $322.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $315.96. The company has a market cap of $7.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 1.22. Lithia Motors has a 52-week low of $262.10 and a 52-week high of $405.67.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 256 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.05, for a total transaction of $75,020.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,376 shares in the company, valued at $403,236.80. This trade represents a 15.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LAD. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the second quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the second quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 4.6% during the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 842 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the second quarter valued at approximately $409,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.4% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,565 shares of the company's stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $378.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $383.00 to $380.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $381.00.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.