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Lithia (LAD) Sees Recoveries in June, Acquires 2 Locations

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Lithia Motors, Inc. (LAD - Free Report) witnessed recoveries in June across all business lines from the declines seen in April and May, as states continue to ease the shelter-in-place strategies and begin reopening processes, which were imposed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Significant progress was witnessed in June, with total same-store vehicle unit sales increasing roughly 3% year over year. While sales of the same-store used vehicle unit increased around 23% year over year, sales of same-store new vehicle units dropped 15%.

Service, body and parts recorded a solid improvement in June, with monthly same-store sales falling nearly 3% compared with the 27% decline witnessed in May. The recovery pattern in service, body, and parts for the month indicated two additional production days in 2020 compared with the same period last year. Moreover, the same-store web traffic, reflecting new visits to the company's websites, jumped almost 53% year over year during the reported month.

Lithia is widening its omni-channel capabilities in order to expand and modernize transportation solutions for customers. A diverse physical network and robust brands will boost the company’s sales. An expanded physical network, combined with enhanced digital solutions, will help Lithia further boost its profitability and market presence. The company aims to expand its proprietary e-commerce home channel to further fuel growth in the second half of 2020.

Lithia continuously strives to make acquisitions for increasing its market share and catering to customer requirements in a better way. It recently announced the acquisition of the Smolich Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram and Nissan locations in Oregon. This transaction is expected to generate $100 million in steady state annual revenues for the firm.

Further, it completed the buyout of Williams Automotive's Honda and Toyota dealerships in Florida last November. The acquisitions of Lincoln Morgantown and Hazleton Honda dealerships are also anticipated to generate higher returns for the company in the upcoming period.

Zacks Rank and Other Stocks to Consider

Lithia currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Shares of the company have appreciated 9%, year to date, as against the industry’s decline of 15.8%.

 

Other top-ranked stocks are Niu Technologies (NIU - Free Report) , LCI Industries (LCII - Free Report) and AngloGold Ashanti Limited (AU - Free Report) , each carrying a Zack Rank of 2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.

Shares of Niu have surged 163.8%, year to date, as against the industry’s decline of 10.1%.

Shares of LCI Industries have appreciated 3.4%, year to date, as against the industry’s decline of 10.1%.

Shares of AngloGold have rallied 37.4%, year to date, compared with the industry’s gain of 26.8%.

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