Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Trading Up 6.7% – What’s Next?

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)’s share price was up 6.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $112.32 and last traded at $111.73. Approximately 22,457 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 274,341 shares. The stock had previously closed at $104.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seaport Research Partners downgraded Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, July 17th. 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 report on Monday, July 13th. Bank of America upped their price target on Sonic Automotive from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $90.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonic Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.67.

Sonic Automotive Trading Up 5.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50-day moving average of $87.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.24.

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

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sonic Automotive news, President Jeff Dyke sold 35,114 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.22, for a total value of $2,992,415.08. Following the sale, the president owned 543,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,331,386.96. The trade was a 6.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 100,000 shares of company stock worth $8,408,160 in the last 90 days. 43.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sonic Automotive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 124.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 355,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,239,000 after purchasing an additional 197,336 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $8,450,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,384,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,450,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 70.8% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 181,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,208,000 after buying an additional 75,125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

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.