Zacks Research Lowers Earnings Estimates for Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q2 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Lithia Motors in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, May 7th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $8.61 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $9.18. The consensus estimate for Lithia Motors’ current full-year earnings is $34.45 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Lithia Motors’ Q1 2026 earnings at $8.61 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $8.97 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $8.96 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $8.96 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $35.50 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $10.21 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $42.82 EPS.

LAD has been the topic of a number of other reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Guggenheim cut their target price on Lithia Motors from $417.00 to $356.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Lithia Motors from $397.00 to $308.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $361.20.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 5.3%

LAD opened at $321.78 on Monday. Lithia Motors has a one year low of $243.04 and a one year high of $405.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $295.64 and its 200-day moving average is $339.71. The company has a market capitalization of $8.38 billion, a PE ratio of 10.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.48.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $7.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.77 by ($0.11). Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.11 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 6.93%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,049.40. The trade was a 13.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 337 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.94, for a total value of $99,731.78. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $482,974.08. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,583 shares of company stock valued at $533,455. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Abrams Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,444,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,611,000 after acquiring an additional 53,490 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 510,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,428,000 after acquiring an additional 11,674 shares in the last quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 137.8% during the 4th quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 460,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,524,000 after acquiring an additional 266,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth 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.