Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $112.66, but opened at $105.16. Sonic Automotive shares last traded at $103.0740, with a volume of 19,549 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SAH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price target on Sonic Automotive from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Sonic Automotive from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Sonic Automotive from $90.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.67.

Sonic Automotive Trading Down 11.0%

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $87.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.57. 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 has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.89.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 0.72% and a return on equity of 22.45%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.19 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 35,114 shares of Sonic Automotive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.22, for a total value of $2,992,415.08. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 543,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,331,386.96. The trade was a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 100,000 shares of company stock worth $8,408,160 in the last 90 days. 43.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sonic Automotive

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $20,239,000 after acquiring an additional 197,336 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive during the first quarter worth approximately $8,450,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,384,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive during the third quarter worth approximately $7,450,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Sonic Automotive by 70.8% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 181,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,208,000 after purchasing an additional 75,125 shares during the period. 46.92% of the stock is 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.