Insider Buying: Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Major Shareholder Acquires $1,287,877.50 in Stock

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) major shareholder Paul Rusnak acquired 21,645 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $59.50 per share, for a total transaction of $1,287,877.50. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 5,121,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,737,877.50. This trade represents a 0.42% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SAH opened at $61.40 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.22. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.11 and a fifty-two week high of $113.67. The company has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.92. 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.19 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAH. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,313,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,088,000 after buying an additional 48,599 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 70.8% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 181,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,208,000 after buying an additional 75,125 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 64.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 131,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,003,000 after acquiring an additional 51,420 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the first quarter valued at $8,450,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Sonic Automotive by 11.5% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 88,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,043,000 after acquiring an additional 9,100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Sonic Automotive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder Paul Rusnak bought 21,645 shares for approximately $1.29 million on October 1, 27,756 shares for about $1.66 million on October 5, and another 1,119 shares for roughly $67,000 on October 6. The purchases increased his already substantial position to more than 5.15 million shares and may signal confidence that SAH is undervalued after its decline. Insider buying report
• Positive Sentiment: UBS maintained a “Buy” rating on Sonic Automotive, suggesting it still sees potential upside despite reducing its price target to $74 from $107. The continued Buy rating may help support the shares. UBS price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: Sonic Automotive scheduled its third-quarter 2026 earnings release for October 29 before the market opens, followed by a management conference call. Investors will be watching dealership demand, used-vehicle trends, margins, and guidance for signs that the recent weakness is temporary. Third-quarter earnings announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays retained its “Hold” rating, underscoring the mixed analyst view on SAH. The lack of broad conviction could limit gains until the company reports its next results. Barclays rating
• Negative Sentiment: UBS’s large price-target reduction, despite retaining its Buy rating, signals that analysts have lowered their assumptions for Sonic Automotive’s earnings or valuation. This offsets some of the benefit from the insider purchases.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on SAH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Sonic Automotive from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, July 17th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $87.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens set a $89.00 price target on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Monday, July 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.12.

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.