Lithia Buys General Motors Stores In Portland - Analyst Blog

Lithia Motors Inc. LAD announced the acquisition of Vic Alfonso Cadillac and Braley & Graham Buick GMC in Portland, OR. Lithia will be renaming the stores as Buick GMC of Beaverton and Cadillac of Portland Lloyd Center. The stores are expected to increase Lithia's revenues by $60 million annually.

Lithia is contented with its expansion as it makes the company the sole Cadillac dealer in the city. It will also increase Lithia's BMW and Mercedes Benz stores in Portland. With the acquisition of these 2 General Motors Co. GM stores, Lithia now operates with 7 stores in Portland.

Lithia is aggressively pursuing store acquisitions to expand its business. On Apr 2, 2014, Lithia took over Access Ford store in Corpus Christi, TX and opened Lithia Chrysler Jeep Dodge of Wasilla in Wasilla, AK. The company expects that these stores will add $105 million to its annual revenues.

On Mar 7, 2014, Lithia announced the acquisition of Honolulu Buick GMC Cadillac and Honolulu Volkswagen stores in Honolulu, HI. The stores are expected to generate $75 million additional revenues annually. The company presently has 3 stores in the state and intends to achieve economies of scale by increasing the store count in the region.

On Feb 10, 2014, Lithia acquired Hammer Lane Volkswagen in Stockton, CA. The store was renamed as Volkswagen of Stockton and is expected to generate $20 million additional revenues annually. On Feb 4, 2014, Lithia acquired the Island Honda of Kahului in Hawaii. The store, which was the company's first acquisition in Maui, is expected to add $30 million in annual revenues.

Lithia Motors is the eighth largest automotive retailer in the U.S. With 101 stores in 12 states, the company offers 28 new vehicle brands along with all brands of used vehicles. Currently, Lithia retains a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Some other automotive retailer stocks worth considering are Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. ABG and Rush Enterprises, Inc. RUSHA. Both these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).