Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Plans $0.53 Quarterly Dividend

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 23rd, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of 0.53 per share on Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th.

Lithia Motors has increased its dividend by an average of 16.3% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Lithia Motors has a payout ratio of 6.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Lithia Motors to earn $33.78 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.12 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 6.3%.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $335.35 on Thursday. Lithia Motors has a 12 month low of $231.36 and a 12 month high of $341.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.64. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $298.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $274.40.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.09 by $0.78. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The firm had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $10.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 28.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,754,677.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total value of $88,632.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,707.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,021 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,617 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $338.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $342.20.

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.