Benzinga | Mar 10, 2021 10:13AM EST

Ex-Dividend Date Insight: Lithia Motors

On February 3, 2021, Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) declared a dividend payable on March 26, 2021 to its shareholders. Lithia Motors also announced that shareholders on the company's books on or before March 12, 2021 are entitled to the dividend. The stock will then go ex-dividend 1 business day(s) before the record date. Lithia Motors, whose current dividend payout is $0.31, has an ex-dividend date set at March 11, 2021. The payout equates to a dividend yield of 0.37% at current price levels.

Understanding Ex-Dividend Dates'

An ex-dividend date is when a company's shares stop trading with its current dividend payout in preparation for the company to announce a new one. Usually, a company's ex-dividend date falls one business day before its record date. Investors should keep this in mind when purchasing stocks because buying them on or after ex-dividend dates does not qualify them to receive the declared payment. Newly declared dividends go to shareholders who have owned that stock before the ex-dividend date. Most ex-dividend dates operate on a quarterly basis.

Understanding Lithia Motors's Dividend Payouts And Yields

Over the past year, Lithia Motors has experienced an overall upward trend regarding its dividend payouts and a downward trend regarding its yields. Last year on March 12, 2020 the company's payout was $0.3, which has since grown by $0.01. Lithia Motors's dividend yield last year was 0.86%, which has since decreased by 0.49%.

Companies use dividend yields in different strategic ways. Some companies may opt to not give yields altogether to reinvest in themselves. Other companies may opt to increase or decrease their yield amounts to control how their shares circulate throughout the stock market.

Click here to find details on Lithia Motors's previous dividends.