Bank of America Initiates Coverage on Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH)

Analysts at Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) in a report released on Wednesday. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating on the stock.

SAH has been the topic of several other research reports. Zacks Research lowered Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup upgraded Sonic Automotive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $68.00 price target on Sonic Automotive in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.50.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 1.6%

SAH traded up $1.02 on Wednesday, reaching $63.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 74,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 238,846. The company has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77 and a beta of 0.91. Sonic Automotive has a fifty-two week low of $52.00 and a fifty-two week high of $89.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $62.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.08.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $3.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive will post 6.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sonic Automotive

In other news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak acquired 48,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $59.92 per share, for a total transaction of $2,908,516.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,088,519 shares in the company, valued at $304,904,058.48. This represents a 0.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 100,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,994,472. Insiders own 42.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SAH. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Sonic Automotive by 992.5% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 437 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the third quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the third quarter worth about $78,000. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.