Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Stock Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $69.61 and traded as high as $87.40. Sonic Automotive shares last traded at $87.09, with a volume of 167,604 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SAH shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.56.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.16, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.78.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 0.72% and a return on equity of 22.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.92 EPS for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is a positive change from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 52.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Sonic Automotive

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SAH. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 37.1% in 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 period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 2,793 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 5.8% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 124.9% in 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. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 15.8% in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.