Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.70 Per Share

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a dividend of 0.70 per share on Friday, August 21st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This is a 22.8% increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57.

Lithia Motors has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 16 years. Lithia Motors has a payout ratio of 6.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Lithia Motors to earn $40.04 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 5.7%.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Lithia Motors stock traded up $67.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $425.35. 1,716,907 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 318,702. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a 50 day moving average of $305.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $294.24. Lithia Motors has a 12 month low of $239.78 and a 12 month high of $439.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.73 by $1.30. The business had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.24 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 34.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $513,780.84. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the sale, the director directly owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,233.20. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 782 shares of company stock valued at $229,572 over the last 90 days. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,389,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,074,000 after buying an additional 43,087 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 742,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,814,000 after acquiring an additional 186,628 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 612,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,873,000 after purchasing an additional 33,966 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 426,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,654,000 after purchasing an additional 14,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at about $125,214,000.

About Lithia Motors

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.