Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Citigroup

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) had its price target cut by Citigroup from $115.00 to $98.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings cut Sonic Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $87.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $139.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Stephens set a $89.00 target price on Sonic Automotive in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.62.

Sonic Automotive Trading Up 5.3%

Shares of NYSE:SAH opened at $63.88 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $67.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.20. Sonic Automotive has a one year low of $54.11 and a one year high of $113.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of 10.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.98.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.36). Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.33% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive will post 6.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak bought 27,756 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.76 per share, for a total transaction of $1,658,698.56. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,149,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $307,728,203.76. This represents a 0.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 76,776 shares of company stock valued at $4,584,694. 43.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sonic Automotive

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 32.6% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 776 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the third quarter valued at approximately $300,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the third quarter valued at approximately $153,000. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 30.0% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 10,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 2,412 shares during the period. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

Sonic Automotive, Inc is a U.S.-based automotive retailer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company operates franchised dealerships that sell new and pre-owned vehicles from a range of automobile manufacturers, along with related automotive products and services.

Its dealership operations provide vehicle financing and insurance products, maintenance and repair services, replacement parts, and collision-repair services. Sonic Automotive also operates EchoPark Automotive, a used-vehicle business focused on offering pre-owned vehicles and related finance and service products through dedicated retail locations.

Founded in 1997 by automotive entrepreneur O.