Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Posted by Defense World Staff on Oct 26th, 2023

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD – Get Free Report)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $249.49, but opened at $240.00. Lithia Motors shares last traded at $235.20, with a volume of 55,418 shares.

The company reported $9.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.99 by ($0.74). The firm had revenue of $8.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.17 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 20.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $11.08 earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on LAD. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Lithia Motors from $319.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $305.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Stephens boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $365.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $198.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $343.11.

Get Our Latest Research Report on Lithia Motors

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.59, for a total value of $1,552,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,807,822.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 8,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.47, for a total transaction of $2,719,163.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 248,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,707,851.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.59, for a total value of $1,552,950.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,919 shares in the company, valued at $6,807,822.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,222 shares of company stock worth $12,090,232 in the last three months. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 102.9% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 676,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,703,000 after buying an additional 343,000 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at $65,185,000. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 114.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 463,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,949,000 after buying an additional 247,174 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 604.1% during the 1st quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 281,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,548,000 after buying an additional 241,910 shares during the period. Finally, MFN Partners Management LP increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 43.0% in the first quarter. MFN Partners Management LP now owns 751,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,413,000 after purchasing an additional 225,806 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $288.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.62. The firm has a market cap of $6.46 billion, a PE ratio of 5.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.46.

About Lithia Motors

(Get Free Report)

Lithia Motors, Inc operates as an automotive retailer. The company operates through Domestic, Import, and Luxury segments. 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 body and parts for the new vehicles under the Driveway and GreenCars brand names.