Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Sonic Automotive from “hold” to “sell.” Analyst views remain mixed: MarketBeat reports an average “hold” rating and an average price target of $81.62.
• Sonic Automotive’s latest quarter fell short of expectations, reporting EPS of $1.30 versus the $1.66 consensus and revenue of $3.99 billion versus $4.03 billion expected. Revenue was up 0.4% year over year.
• The stock opened at $61.67, well below its 52-week high of $113.67 and closer to its low of $54.11.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stephens set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Sonic Automotive from $72.00 to $57.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $139.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners cut 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 note on Friday, July 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $81.62.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

Shares of SAH opened at $61.67 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.98. Sonic Automotive has a one year low of $54.11 and a one year high of $113.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock's fifty day moving average is $66.33 and its 200-day moving average is $73.07.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.36). Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 1.33%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. Sonic Automotive's revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive will post 6.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Sonic Automotive

In related news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak purchased 27,756 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $59.76 per share, with a total value of $1,658,698.56. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 5,149,401 shares in the company, valued at $307,728,203.76. The trade was 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. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 76,776 shares of company stock worth $4,584,694. 43.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sonic Automotive

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,313,857 shares of the company's stock worth $90,088,000 after buying an additional 48,599 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 64.4% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the first quarter worth about $8,450,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 11.5% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 88,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,043,000 after purchasing an additional 9,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,799,000. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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