Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys 5,411 Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 66.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,519 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,411 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive in the first quarter worth $453,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Sonic Automotive by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 510,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,608,000 after purchasing an additional 54,455 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter worth about $217,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 145.5% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 79,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,942,000 after purchasing an additional 47,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 48.6% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 101,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,262,000 after purchasing an additional 33,088 shares in the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonic Automotive

In related news, President Jeff Dyke sold 35,114 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.22, for a total value of $2,992,415.08. Following the sale, the president directly owned 543,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,331,386.96. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 100,000 shares of company stock worth $8,408,160 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 43.68% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Trading Up 7.3%

Shares of SAH opened at $112.29 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.76, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.89. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.11 and a twelve month high of $113.67. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $87.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.57.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.73 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 0.72% and a return on equity of 22.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SAH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Sonic Automotive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Stephens set a $89.00 target price on Sonic Automotive in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Seaport Research Partners lowered Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.67.

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.