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

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, February 10th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of 0.53 per share on Friday, March 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th.

Lithia Motors has increased its dividend by an average of 15.4% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Lithia Motors has a dividend payout ratio of 5.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Lithia Motors to earn $34.65 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.12 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 6.1%.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD traded down $4.28 during trading on Monday, reaching $380.41. 326,267 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 418,502. Lithia Motors has a 52-week low of $243.00 and a 52-week high of $405.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $363.47 and a 200-day moving average of $336.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 1.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. Analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 29.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lithia Motors news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. This trade represents a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total value of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $645,786.90. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,339 shares of company stock valued at $7,997,621. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LAD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Lithia Motors from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Stephens upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $362.50.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

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. Its Financing Operations segment provides financing to customers buying and leasing retail vehicles.