Needham & Company LLC Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH)

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price points to a potential upside of 34.67% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on SAH. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Sonic Automotive from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Bank of America started coverage on Sonic Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Stephens cut their target price on Sonic Automotive from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.50.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of SAH stock opened at $66.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Sonic Automotive has a one year low of $52.00 and a one year high of $89.62.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.94 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 21.54% and a net margin of 0.78%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak purchased 11,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $59.95 per share, with a total value of $688,285.95. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 5,100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $305,745,000. This trade represents a 0.23% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have acquired 100,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,994,472 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 43.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sonic Automotive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAH. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 37.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 13,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $795,000 after acquiring an additional 3,777 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Sonic Automotive by 13.6% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 124.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 355,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,239,000 after purchasing an additional 197,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 15.8% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.