Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Raises Dividend to $0.75 Per Share

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors 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 yield of 1.1%. 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 increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 16 consecutive years. Lithia Motors has a payout ratio of 7.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Lithia Motors to earn $40.26 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 7.0%.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD stock traded down $29.32 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $270.21. 1,067,811 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 314,720. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $335.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $314.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 8.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.27. Lithia Motors has a 1 year low of $239.78 and a 1 year high of $439.49.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $10.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.70 by $0.64. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 1.88%. The business had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 35.60 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 represents a 3.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LAD. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 1,311.1% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 68.0% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 32.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 42 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.