JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Price Target to $77.00

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) had its price target raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $67.00 to $77.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective suggests a potential downside of 5.04% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on SAH. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 target price on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.50.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

Shares of SAH stock opened at $81.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $66.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.42. Sonic Automotive has a 12 month low of $54.11 and a 12 month high of $89.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a PE ratio of 25.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.89.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.22. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 0.72% and a return on equity of 22.45%. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. Sonic Automotive’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Sonic Automotive will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak purchased 11,481 shares of Sonic Automotive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $59.95 per share, with a total value of $688,285.95. Following the purchase, the insider owned 5,100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $305,745,000. The trade was a 0.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 81,262 shares of company stock valued at $4,870,567. 43.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 6.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,646,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,278,000 after purchasing an additional 96,836 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 3.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,313,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,088,000 after purchasing an additional 48,599 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 701,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,623,000 after purchasing an additional 62,426 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 510,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,608,000 after purchasing an additional 54,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 20.5% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 383,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,151,000 after purchasing an additional 65,266 shares in the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.