Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Increases Dividend to $0.57 Per Share

Key Points

• Lithia Motors raised its quarterly dividend to $0.57 per share (a 3.6% increase), payable May 22 to holders of record May 8, implying a roughly 0.8% yield; the company has increased its dividend for 16 consecutive years and carries a low payout ratio (~5.9%), suggesting the dividend is well covered by earnings.
• The company reported an EPS miss—$7.34 vs. $9.14 expected—and revenue of $9.27 billion vs. $9.81 billion expected— yet the stock jumped to $290.95 on the report; Lithia trades at about a 9.1x P/E with a market cap near $6.8 billion.

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of 0.57 per share on Friday, May 22nd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This is a 3.6% increase from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55.

Lithia Motors has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 16 years. Lithia Motors has a dividend payout ratio of 5.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Lithia Motors to earn $40.54 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 5.4%.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD traded up $13.71 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $290.95. The stock had a trading volume of 500,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 319,308. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.05, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.22. The company's 50-day moving average price is $267.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $302.84. Lithia Motors has a twelve month low of $239.78 and a twelve month high of $360.55.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.14 by ($1.80). The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.81 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 12.76%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors will post 34.68 EPS for the current fiscal 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.