Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Barclays

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) had its price objective dropped by analysts at Barclays from $75.00 to $73.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 14.52% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on SAH. UBS Group decreased their target price on Sonic Automotive from $107.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $139.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Bank of America upped their target price on Sonic Automotive from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Stephens set a $89.00 target price on Sonic Automotive in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $72.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.38.

Sonic Automotive Trading Up 5.1%

Shares of Sonic Automotive stock traded up $3.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $63.74. The stock had a trading volume of 98,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 287,672. Sonic Automotive has a 12-month low of $54.11 and a 12-month high of $113.67. The firm has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $67.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.36). The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 1.33%. Sonic Automotive’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak bought 27,756 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $59.76 per share, for a total transaction of $1,658,698.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,149,401 shares in the company, valued at $307,728,203.76. The trade was a 0.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have purchased a total of 76,776 shares of company stock worth $4,584,694 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 43.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 32.6% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive during the second quarter worth approximately $88,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive during the first quarter worth approximately $79,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in Sonic Automotive by 15.5% during the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at $208,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

Sonic Automotive, Inc is a U.S.-based automotive retailer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company operates franchised dealerships that sell new and pre-owned vehicles from a range of automobile manufacturers, along with related automotive products and services.

Its dealership operations provide vehicle financing and insurance products, maintenance and repair services, replacement parts, and collision-repair services. Sonic Automotive also operates EchoPark Automotive, a used-vehicle business focused on offering pre-owned vehicles and related finance and service products through dedicated retail locations.

Founded in 1997 by automotive entrepreneur O.