Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Buys New Shares in Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 16,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,224,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SAH. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Sonic Automotive by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 13,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $795,000 after buying an additional 3,777 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 13.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 23,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,328,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 124.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 355,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,239,000 after acquiring an additional 197,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 15.8% during 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. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of SAH opened at $61.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $62.25 and a 200 day moving average of $67.89. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.00 and a 12 month high of $89.62.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.01). Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 21.54% and a net margin of 0.78%.The company had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.51 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. Zacks Research cut shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 11th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $68.00 price target on Sonic Automotive in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.50.

Insider Transactions at Sonic Automotive

In other Sonic Automotive news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak acquired 11,481 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $59.95 per share, with a total value of $688,285.95. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 5,100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $305,745,000. This trade represents a 0.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders acquired a total of 100,000 shares of company stock worth $5,994,472 over the last three months. 42.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sonic Automotive 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.