Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.13 EPS

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.13, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.45 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 28.06%. Sonic Automotive’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Sonic Automotive stock traded up $3.86 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $60.53. 560,707 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 222,833. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.70 and a beta of 1.82. The business has a 50 day moving average of $52.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.86. Sonic Automotive has a 12 month low of $39.02 and a 12 month high of $64.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SAH. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

Sonic Automotive, Inc operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. It operates in three segments, Franchised Dealerships, EchoPark, and Powersports. The Franchised Dealerships segment is involved in the sale of new and used cars and light trucks, and replacement parts; provision of vehicle maintenance, manufacturer warranty repair, and paint and collision repair services; and arrangement of extended warranties, service contracts, financing, insurance, and other aftermarket products for its guests.