Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $97.3333.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SAH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Sonic Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $72.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Sonic Automotive from $90.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Seaport Research Partners cut Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

Shares of Sonic Automotive stock opened at $76.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.71. Sonic Automotive has a twelve month low of $54.11 and a twelve month high of $113.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.37% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.19 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Sonic Automotive will post 6.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive in the second quarter valued at about $373,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 9,481.6% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,318,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,766,000 after buying an additional 1,304,388 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the second quarter worth approximately $88,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 14.5% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,799,000. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.