JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its position in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 19.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 116,909 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,756 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $8,896,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 992.5% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive during the third quarter worth approximately $109,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the second quarter valued at approximately $168,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the second quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Creative Planning purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the second quarter valued at approximately $213,000. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonic Automotive

In other news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak acquired 48,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $59.92 per share, for a total transaction of $2,908,516.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,088,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,904,058.48. This trade represents a 0.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 100,000 shares of company stock worth $5,994,472. Insiders own 42.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SAH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company 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 research report on Monday, March 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays set a $67.00 target price on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Three 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 MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.50.

Sonic Automotive Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of SAH stock opened at $61.42 on Friday. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.00 and a fifty-two week high of $89.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.12, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $62.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.94 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 0.78% and a return on equity of 21.54%. The firm’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. Research analysts expect that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 44.84%.

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.