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

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 13th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of 0.53 per share on Friday, March 21st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th.

Lithia Motors has raised its dividend payment by an average of 15.4% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 12 consecutive years. Lithia Motors has a payout ratio of 5.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Lithia Motors to earn $34.65 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 6.1%.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAD traded down $0.61 on Thursday, reaching $385.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 481,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 417,962. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $363.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $333.72. Lithia Motors has a 52-week low of $243.00 and a 52-week high of $405.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.14, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 1.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 29.23 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $362.50.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 11,627 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.00, for a total transaction of $4,534,530.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 181,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,662,930. This trade represents a 6.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total transaction of $92,652.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $661,964.94. This represents a 12.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,611 shares of company stock valued at $7,716,702. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

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.