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

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.53 per share on Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50.

Lithia Motors has increased its dividend by an average of 16.3% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 14 years.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE LAD traded down $1.60 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $246.74. The company had a trading volume of 60,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 213,135. Lithia Motors has a 1-year low of $206.69 and a 1-year high of $331.96. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $285.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $284.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a PE ratio of 6.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.58.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $6.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.85 by ($1.74). Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 3.22%. The business had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.44 EPS. Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 34.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 135 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.84, for a total transaction of $40,208.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,010.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LAD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $290.00 to $248.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $327.90.

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.