Aristeia Capital L.L.C. Acquires New Position in Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Key Points

• Aristeia Capital L.L.C. has made a new investment in Sonic Automotive, acquiring 4,172 shares valued at approximately $238,000 during the first quarter.
• Sonic Automotive recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.35 to $0.38 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 1.8%.
• Several analysts have adjusted their price targets for Sonic Automotive, with Bank of America raising its target from $80.00 to $94.00, while Zacks downgraded the company from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating.

Aristeia Capital L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Sonic Automotive by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,370 shares of the company's stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Sonic Automotive by 2.0% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 22,581 shares of the company's stock worth $1,286,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Sonic Automotive by 0.3% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 291,941 shares of the company's stock worth $16,629,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in Sonic Automotive by 19.8% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,520 shares of the company's stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in Sonic Automotive by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 128,835 shares of the company's stock worth $8,162,000 after purchasing an additional 1,386 shares during the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sonic Automotive Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of SAH stock traded down $3.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $79.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 153,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 166,120. 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 $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.73 and a beta of 0.98. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $79.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.41. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $52.00 and a 1-year high of $89.62.

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

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is an increase from Sonic Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Sonic Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SAH shares. Stephens cut shares of Sonic Automotive from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Zacks Research cut shares of Sonic Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $72.00 price target (up from $65.00) on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.86.

About Sonic Automotive

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.