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

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 1st, NASDAQ reports. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of 0.53 per share on Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th.

Lithia Motors has raised its dividend payment by an average of 16.3% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Lithia Motors has a payout ratio of 6.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Lithia Motors to earn $34.30 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 6.2%.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 6.9 %

Shares of LAD traded up $19.11 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $295.44. The company had a trading volume of 679,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 245,939. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $256.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $273.60. Lithia Motors has a 52 week low of $231.36 and a 52 week high of $331.96. The stock has a market cap of $8.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.73, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Craig Hallum reduced their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $290.00 to $248.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $308.40.

About Lithia Motors

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.