Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $81.6250.

Several research firms recently issued reports on SAH. UBS Group started coverage on Sonic Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Zacks Research upgraded Sonic Automotive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Sonic Automotive from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th.

Insider Activity at Sonic Automotive

In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.97, for a total transaction of $4,148,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 111,622 shares in the company, valued at $9,261,277.34. This trade represents a 30.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 100,000 shares of company stock worth $8,408,160. 43.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAH. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 197,336 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the first quarter worth $8,450,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the fourth quarter worth $7,384,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the third quarter valued at $7,450,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Sonic Automotive by 6.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

SAH stock opened at $83.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $80.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.28. Sonic Automotive has a 52-week low of $54.11 and a 52-week high of $89.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.64, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.89.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.73 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 22.45% and a net margin of 0.72%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive will post 6.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This is an increase from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.23%.

About Sonic Automotive

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.