Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays lowered Sonic Automotive’s price target from $75 to $73 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating; the new target implies 14.5% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst views are mixed: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $82.38, with four Buy, three Hold, and three Sell ratings.
• Sonic Automotive’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations, reporting EPS of $1.30 versus $1.66 expected and revenue of $3.99 billion versus $4.03 billion expected.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by investment analysts at Barclays from $75.00 to $73.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Barclays's target price would suggest a potential upside of 14.52% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on SAH. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $107.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Sonic Automotive from $72.00 to $57.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Sonic Automotive from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Sonic Automotive from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Four investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $82.38.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 5.1%

SAH stock traded up $3.06 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $63.74. 98,869 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 287,672. Sonic Automotive has a 12 month low of $54.11 and a 12 month high of $113.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.08. The company has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak acquired 27,756 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $59.76 per share, for a total transaction of $1,658,698.56. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 5,149,401 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $307,728,203.76. This represents a 0.54% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have acquired a total of 76,776 shares of company stock valued at $4,584,694 over the last three months. Company insiders own 43.68% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAH. A&I Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. A&I Financial Services LLC now owns 11,755 shares of the company's stock valued at $997,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Sonic Automotive by 32.6% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 776 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 15.5% in the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 14.5% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth about $88,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.92% of the company's stock.

About Sonic Automotive

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.

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