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

Key Points

• Citigroup lowered Sonic Automotive’s price target from $115 to $98 while maintaining a “buy” rating, implying 54.68% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: four analysts rate the stock “buy,” three “hold,” and three “sell,” resulting in an overall “hold” consensus and an average target price of $82.62.
• Sonic Automotive’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations, with EPS of $1.30 versus the $1.66 consensus and revenue of $3.99 billion versus $4.03 billion expected; shares closed at $63.35.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by research analysts at Citigroup from $115.00 to $98.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Citigroup's price target points to a potential upside of 54.68% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on SAH. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $87.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Seaport Research Partners lowered Sonic Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, July 17th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $139.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Sonic Automotive from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $82.62.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 0.2%

SAH traded up $0.12 on Monday, reaching $63.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 103,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 287,666. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $67.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.97. Sonic Automotive has a fifty-two week low of $54.11 and a fifty-two week high of $113.67.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.36). Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 1.33%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sonic Automotive news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak acquired 27,756 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The shares were bought 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 in the company, valued at $307,728,203.76. This trade represents a 0.54% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have acquired 76,776 shares of company stock valued at $4,584,694 in the last quarter. Insiders own 43.68% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $8,450,000. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,799,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 64.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 131,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,003,000 after purchasing an additional 51,420 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 3.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,313,857 shares of the company's stock worth $90,088,000 after purchasing an additional 48,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the second quarter worth approximately $2,951,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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