Lithia Motors, Inc. (LAD) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.75 on November 20th

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, October 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share on Friday, November 20th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. This is a 7.1% increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70.

Lithia Motors has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 16 years. Lithia Motors has a payout ratio of 8.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Lithia Motors to earn $40.12 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 7.5%.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Lithia Motors stock opened at $298.87 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $319.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $307.60. The stock has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.30. Lithia Motors has a 12-month low of $239.78 and a 12-month high of $439.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $10.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.70 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.75 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.05% and a net margin of 2.06%. The company’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 35.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.73, for a total transaction of $27,804.75. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $852,679. This trade represents a 3.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at approximately $696,482,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,389,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,074,000 after acquiring an additional 43,087 shares in the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth $66,988,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth $63,015,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 22.5% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 159,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,796,000 after acquiring an additional 29,308 shares in the last quarter.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc is an automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Operating under the Lithia & Driveway name, the company sells new and used vehicles through a network of franchised dealerships and digital retail channels. Its dealerships represent a broad range of domestic, Asian and European automotive brands.

In addition to vehicle sales, Lithia provides related services including vehicle financing and insurance products, parts and maintenance, collision repair, and other after-sales support.