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

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, Zacks reports. Investors 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 dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50.

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

Lithia Motors Trading Down 6.2 %

LAD stock opened at $248.19 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Lithia Motors has a 12-month low of $206.69 and a 12-month high of $331.96. The stock has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.84, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.58. The business’s 50-day moving average is $285.26 and its 200 day moving average is $284.10.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $6.11 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.44 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 34.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 135 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.84, for a total value of $40,208.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,662 shares in the company, valued at $495,010.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LAD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $298.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their target price on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $297.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $334.60.

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.