Q1 EPS Estimates for Lithia Motors Lifted by Zacks Research

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) – Analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q1 2027 earnings estimates for shares of Lithia Motors in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $9.41 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $9.25. Zacks Research currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Lithia Motors’ current full-year earnings is $34.26 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Lithia Motors’ Q2 2027 earnings at $10.09 EPS and Q3 2027 earnings at $10.41 EPS.

LAD has been the subject of a number of other reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays cut their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. UBS Group started coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.30.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Lithia Motors stock opened at $290.59 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $271.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $298.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Lithia Motors has a 12-month low of $239.78 and a 12-month high of $360.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.26.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.28. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.The business had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.01%.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,233.20. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total value of $72,186.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $543,905.44. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 617 shares of company stock valued at $174,966 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth about $125,214,000. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 742,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,814,000 after purchasing an additional 186,628 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth about $58,409,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 8,474.0% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 107,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,789,000 after purchasing an additional 106,434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 183.6% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 162,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,149,000 after purchasing an additional 105,478 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company’s core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.