AlphaQuest LLC Has $1.31 Million Stake in Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

AlphaQuest LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 18.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,703 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $1,313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SAH. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Sonic Automotive by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 7,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $424,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC increased its stake in Sonic Automotive by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 23,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,850,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Sonic Automotive by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 22,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,286,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Sonic Automotive by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 8,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sonic Automotive Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of SAH stock opened at $64.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. The stock has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.14. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.00 and a 1 year high of $89.62.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 0.86% and a return on equity of 21.69%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SAH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Zacks Research cut shares of Sonic Automotive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.00.

Sonic Automotive Profile

Sonic Automotive, Inc operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. It operates in three segments, Franchised Dealerships, EchoPark, and Powersports. The Franchised Dealerships segment is involved in the sale of new and used cars and light trucks, and replacement parts; provision of vehicle maintenance, manufacturer warranty repair, and paint and collision repair services; and arrangement of extended warranties, service contracts, financing, insurance, and other aftermarket products for its guests.