2,680 Shares in Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH Acquired by R Squared Ltd

R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SAH. Quarry LP bought a new position in Sonic Automotive in the first quarter worth approximately $84,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at $218,000. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at $219,000. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. bought a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at $238,000. Finally, Harrell Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the 2nd quarter valued at $240,000. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SAH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Sonic Automotive from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Benchmark increased their target price on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Stephens cut Sonic Automotive from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $72.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on Sonic Automotive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sonic Automotive has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.00.

Sonic Automotive Stock Down 1.4%

Sonic Automotive stock opened at $64.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 0.95. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $52.00 and a 1-year high of $89.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $77.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.26.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.41). The business had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.59 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 21.69% and a net margin of 0.86%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

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

Sonic Automotive Company 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.