Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Raises Dividend to $0.75 Per Share

Key Points

• Lithia Motors raised its quarterly dividend 7.1% to $0.75 per share, equivalent to $3.00 annually and a 1.1% yield. The company has increased its dividend for 16 consecutive years, with a low 7.5% payout ratio.
• The stock fell 9.8% to $270.21, well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, amid elevated trading volume.
• Lithia Motors exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $10.34 in earnings per share versus the $9.70 consensus and $9.95 billion in revenue, up 2.8% year over year.

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share on Friday, November 20th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. This is a 7.1% increase from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70.

Lithia Motors has raised its dividend payment 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 7.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Lithia Motors to earn $40.26 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 7.0%.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 9.8%

LAD stock traded down $29.32 on Wednesday, hitting $270.21. 1,067,811 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 314,720. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $335.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $314.99. Lithia Motors has a 12-month low of $239.78 and a 12-month high of $439.49. The stock has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $10.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.70 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.75 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 1.88%. The firm's revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors will post 35.60 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Stacy Congdon sold 75 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.73, for a total transaction of $27,804.75. Following the sale, the director owned 2,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $852,679. The trade was a 3.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 193.4% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 60,113 shares of the company's stock worth $17,219,000 after purchasing an additional 39,624 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at $21,371,000. Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at $1,190,000. Leonteq Securities AG boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 570.8% in the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 7,386 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,844,000 after purchasing an additional 6,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth about $901,000.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc is an automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Operating under the Lithia & Driveway name, the company sells new and used vehicles through a network of franchised dealerships and digital retail channels. Its dealerships represent a broad range of domestic, Asian and European automotive brands.

In addition to vehicle sales, Lithia provides related services including vehicle financing and insurance products, parts and maintenance, collision repair, and other after-sales support.

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