AlphaQuest LLC Purchases 18,226 Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC significantly increased its stake in Sonic Automotive by 956.2%, acquiring an additional 18,226 shares in Q1, bringing its total holdings to 20,132 shares valued at approximately $1.15 million.
• Sonic Automotive reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.19, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.63, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 5.9% to $3.66 billion.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.38 per share, up from $0.35, reflecting a solid annualized dividend yield of 1.9% and a payout ratio of 33.78%.

AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) by 956.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,132 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,226 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC owned 0.06% of Sonic Automotive worth $1,147,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Mariner LLC bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $218,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $261,000. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SAH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Stephens downgraded Sonic Automotive from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $72.00 price objective (up from $65.00) on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $40,331.52. Following the sale, the president directly owned 605,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,389,617.86. This represents a 0.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,000 shares of company stock worth $3,502,062. 42.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sonic Automotive Trading Up 4.8%

SAH stock opened at $81.9930 on Friday. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $52.00 and a 1-year high of $89.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.22 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.31.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.56. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 21.40% and a net margin of 1.07%.The business had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.47 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a positive change from Sonic Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Sonic Automotive's payout ratio is currently 33.78%.

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

Sonic Automotive, Inc operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. It operates in three segments, Franchised Dealerships, EchoPark, and Powersports. The Franchised Dealerships segment is involved in the sale of new and used cars and light trucks, and replacement parts; provision of vehicle maintenance, manufacturer warranty repair, and paint and collision repair services; and arrangement of extended warranties, service contracts, financing, insurance, and other aftermarket products for its guests.

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