Empowered Funds LLC Buys 51,420 Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 64.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 131,302 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,420 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $9,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SAH. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Sonic Automotive by 37.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 13,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $795,000 after buying an additional 3,777 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 23,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 124.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 355,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,239,000 after purchasing an additional 197,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 15.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 38,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,204,000 after purchasing an additional 5,286 shares during the period. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on SAH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Sonic Automotive from $77.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Stephens set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $90.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.67.

Sonic Automotive Trading Down 10.4%

NYSE SAH opened at $100.89 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.89. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.11 and a 52 week high of $113.67. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $88.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 22.45% and a net margin of 0.72%.The company had revenue of $3.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.19 earnings per share. Sonic Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 50,000 shares of Sonic Automotive stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.97, for a total transaction of $4,148,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 111,622 shares in the company, valued at $9,261,277.34. This trade represents a 30.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 100,000 shares of company stock worth $8,408,160 in the last ninety days. 43.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sonic Automotive News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Sonic Automotive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue rose 7.6% to approximately $3.9 billion, exceeding the $3.78 billion analyst estimate. Adjusted earnings of $1.82 per share also beat expectations of $1.75. Sonic Automotive Q2 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Sonic Automotive reported record second-quarter total gross profit of $616.2 million, up 2% year over year, indicating continued scale and demand despite a challenging cost environment. Sonic Automotive Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, payable October 15 to shareholders of record September 15. The payment represents an annualized dividend of $1.64 and an indicated yield of about 1.6%.
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly EPS declined from $2.19 a year earlier to $1.82, while net margin was only 0.72%. Reports attributed the pressure on profitability to higher dealership costs, tempering the impact of the revenue and earnings beats. Sonic Automotive Shares Turn Negative as Profitability Undermined by Dealership Costs

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

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.