Lithia Motors Q1 EPS Forecast Increased by Zacks Research

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for Lithia Motors in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, February 26th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $7.98 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $7.97. The consensus estimate for Lithia Motors’ current full-year earnings is $34.45 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Lithia Motors’ Q3 2025 earnings at $9.44 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $7.31 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $9.18 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $9.03 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $9.92 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $43.24 EPS.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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, 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 research note on Thursday, February 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.1 %

LAD stock opened at $344.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.67. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $360.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $339.67. Lithia Motors has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $405.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

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

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $645,786.90. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. This represents a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,194,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $426,968,000 after acquiring an additional 27,035 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 12.8% in 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. Lyrical Asset Management LP grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 510,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $182,428,000 after buying an additional 11,674 shares in the last quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 137.8% during the 4th quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 460,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,524,000 after buying an additional 266,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at about $152,752,000.

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.