Lithia Motors, Inc. (LAD) to Distribute Quarterly Dividend of $0.53 on November 15th

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 23rd, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of 0.53 per share on Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th.

Lithia Motors has increased its dividend payment by an average of 16.3% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Lithia Motors has a payout ratio of 6.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Lithia Motors to earn $33.70 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 Up 1.9 %

Lithia Motors stock opened at $350.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $306.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $279.10. Lithia Motors has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $351.02. The company has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 1.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.25 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 28.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at $9,754,677.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at $9,754,677.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total transaction of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 32,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,744,821.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,235 shares of company stock valued at $9,301,973 in the last ninety days. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on LAD shares. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $353.80.

About Lithia Motors

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.