Sonic Automotive, Inc. (SAH) – What Are Brokerages Thinking About This Stock?

Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $81.62.

Several research firms have commented on SAH. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $115.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Zacks Research cut Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $63.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Sonic Automotive from $72.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Stephens set a $89.00 price target on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Monday, July 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sonic Automotive news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak acquired 12,555 shares of Sonic Automotive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.90 per share, with a total value of $752,044.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,176,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $310,088,882.40. The trade was a 0.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased 76,776 shares of company stock worth $4,584,694 over the last ninety days. 43.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Sonic Automotive by 106.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 27,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,328,000 after purchasing an additional 14,352 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 80.5% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 37,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,577,000 after purchasing an additional 16,753 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,799,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 64.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 131,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,003,000 after buying an additional 51,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,313,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,088,000 after buying an additional 48,599 shares in the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

Sonic Automotive stock opened at $61.67 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.92, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.98. Sonic Automotive has a one year low of $54.11 and a one year high of $113.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $66.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.07.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.33% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. Sonic Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive will post 6.42 EPS for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.37%.

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.