Lithia Motors, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.53 (NYSE:LAD)

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, February 10th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of 0.53 per share on Friday, March 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th.

Lithia Motors has raised its dividend by an average of 15.4% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Lithia Motors has a dividend payout ratio of 5.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Lithia Motors to earn $40.30 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 5.3%.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of LAD stock traded down $3.47 on Wednesday, hitting $314.64. The stock had a trading volume of 17,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 376,222. The firm has a market cap of $8.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.60, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.67. Lithia Motors has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $405.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $358.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $341.38.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at $645,786.90. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. This trade represents a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on LAD shares. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $371.36.

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.