Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Stock Bumped Down to “Strong Sell” by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note released on Monday,Zacks reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Stephens set a $89.00 target price on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $185.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $107.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sonic Automotive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.12.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SAH opened at $61.02 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.73, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.14. Sonic Automotive has a 52-week low of $54.11 and a 52-week high of $113.67.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 1.37%. The company had revenue of $3.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.19 earnings per share. Sonic Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive will post 6.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is 26.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonic Automotive

In related news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak purchased 27,756 shares of Sonic Automotive stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $59.76 per share, with a total value of $1,658,698.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,149,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $307,728,203.76. This trade represents a 0.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 64,221 shares of company stock valued at $3,832,650. 43.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the first quarter worth $79,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive in the second quarter valued at about $88,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its position in Sonic Automotive by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 2nd quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 2,981.1% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 3,935 shares in the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Sonic Automotive

Sonic Automotive, Inc is an automotive retailer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company operates franchised dealerships that sell new and used cars and light trucks from a range of manufacturers, along with related automotive products and services.

Its dealership operations provide vehicle financing and insurance products, parts and maintenance services, collision repair, and other after-sales support. Sonic Automotive also operates EchoPark Automotive, a used-vehicle retail business focused on providing a broad selection of pre-owned vehicles and related services.

Founded in 1997 by automotive entrepreneur O.