Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $80.25.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Barclays started coverage on Sonic Automotive in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $71.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SAH. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL increased its position in Sonic Automotive by 41.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 183,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,964,000 after buying an additional 53,510 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 89.9% during the third quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 57,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,391,000 after buying an additional 27,315 shares in the last quarter. Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the third quarter valued at about $212,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the third quarter valued at about $7,450,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of Sonic Automotive stock opened at $64.54 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Sonic Automotive has a 12-month low of $52.00 and a 12-month high of $89.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $63.25 and its 200-day moving average is $72.90.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its earnings results 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). Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 0.86%.The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. Sonic Automotive’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Sonic Automotive will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.08%.

About Sonic Automotive

Sonic Automotive, Inc is a publicly traded automotive retailer that operates a network of franchised new-car dealerships and used-vehicle dealerships across the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the company offers a range of services that include vehicle sales, leasing, finance and insurance products, service and parts, and collision repair. Sonic Automotive’s dealerships represent numerous major automotive brands, and the company also markets a broad selection of pre-owned vehicles under its own banner.

In addition to its core dealership operations, Sonic Automotive has developed digital retail capabilities that allow customers to research, shop and complete transactions online.