Lithia Motors, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.55 (NYSE:LAD)

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.55 per share on Friday, March 20th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th.

Lithia Motors has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 16 consecutive years. Lithia Motors has a dividend payout ratio of 5.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Lithia Motors to earn $40.30 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 5.5%.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 2.1%

NYSE:LAD traded down $6.93 on Wednesday, reaching $319.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 753,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 273,295. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.21. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $334.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $320.95. Lithia Motors has a 1-year low of $262.10 and a 1-year high of $405.14. The firm has a market cap of $7.75 billion, a PE ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 1.20.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $6.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.17 by ($1.43). Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.42% and a net margin of 2.39%.The firm had revenue of $9.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.79 EPS. Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LAD shares. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Barclays cut their price target on Lithia Motors from $410.00 to $390.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Evercore lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $327.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $390.70.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company’s core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.