Lithia Motors, Inc. (LAD) to Distribute Quarterly Dividend of $0.70 on August 21st

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, July 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of 0.70 per share on Friday, August 21st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date 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%annually over the last three years and has increased 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. Analysts expect Lithia Motors to earn $40.78 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 6.9%.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE LAD opened at $370.44 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $317.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $296.33. Lithia Motors has a 52-week low of $239.78 and a 52-week high of $439.49. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $8.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.22.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.73 by $1.30. The business had revenue of $9.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.64 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $10.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 34.9 EPS for the current year.

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.