Lithia Motors (LAD) Competitors

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) and Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, profitability and earnings.

Do institutionals and insiders believe in LAD or PAG?

77.1% of Penske Automotive Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Lithia Motors shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 51.7% of Penske Automotive Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media refer more to LAD or PAG?

In the previous week, Penske Automotive Group had 11 more articles in the media than Lithia Motors. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for Penske Automotive Group and 4 mentions for Lithia Motors. Penske Automotive Group's average media sentiment score of 0.80 beat Lithia Motors' score of 0.50 indicating that Penske Automotive Group is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Lithia Motors	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Penske Automotive Group	4 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is LAD or PAG a better dividend stock?

Lithia Motors pays an annual dividend of $2.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Penske Automotive Group pays an annual dividend of $5.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Lithia Motors pays out 6.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Penske Automotive Group pays out 35.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Lithia Motors has increased its dividend for 16 consecutive years and Penske Automotive Group has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years.

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, LAD or PAG?

Penske Automotive Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Lithia Motors. Lithia Motors is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Penske Automotive Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lithia Motors	$36.24B	0.25	$802M	$31.73	11.10
Penske Automotive Group	$30.46B	0.40	$918.90M	$14.20	12.86

Which has more risk & volatility, LAD or PAG?

Lithia Motors has a beta of 1.46, meaning that its stock price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Penske Automotive Group has a beta of 0.91, meaning that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate LAD or PAG?

Lithia Motors presently has a consensus target price of $379.40, indicating a potential upside of 7.75%. Penske Automotive Group has a consensus target price of $172.00, indicating a potential downside of 5.78%. Given Lithia Motors' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Lithia Motors is more favorable than Penske Automotive Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lithia Motors	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.70
Penske Automotive Group	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Is LAD or PAG more profitable?

Penske Automotive Group has a net margin of 3.10% compared to Lithia Motors' net margin of 2.30%. Penske Automotive Group's return on equity of 17.80% beat Lithia Motors' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lithia Motors	2.30%	12.74%	3.63%
Penske Automotive Group	3.10%	17.80%	5.51%

Summary

Penske Automotive Group beats Lithia Motors on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.