Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eleven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $90.6667.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SAH. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $185.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Sonic Automotive from $90.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SAH opened at $100.90 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $84.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 32.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.89. Sonic Automotive has a 52 week low of $54.11 and a 52 week high of $104.30.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 22.45% and a net margin of 0.72%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. Analysts predict that Sonic Automotive will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonic Automotive

In related news, President Jeff Dyke sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.97, for a total value of $4,148,500.00. Following the sale, the president owned 111,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,261,277.34. This represents a 30.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 100,000 shares of company stock worth $8,408,160. 43.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sonic Automotive

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its position in Sonic Automotive by 41.2% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 183,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,964,000 after acquiring an additional 53,510 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 70.8% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 181,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,208,000 after purchasing an additional 75,125 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the first quarter worth approximately $453,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the first quarter worth approximately $8,450,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 94,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,870,000 after purchasing an additional 17,286 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

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.