Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Cuts Stake in Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital cut its Sonic Automotive stake by 89.4% in the first quarter, selling 57,164 shares and retaining 6,808 shares valued at approximately $467,000. Institutional investors collectively own 46.92% of SAH.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: five analysts rate the stock a Buy, four a Hold and two a Sell, resulting in an overall “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $97.89.
• Sonic Automotive exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.82 in EPS and $3.93 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 7.6% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, representing a 2.0% yield.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership decreased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) by 89.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,808 shares of the company's stock after selling 57,164 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership's holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 15,603 shares of the company's stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,577 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,858 shares of the company's stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,000 shares of the company's stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 5,700 shares of the company's stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SAH shares. Stephens set a $89.00 price target on Sonic Automotive in a report on Monday, July 13th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $90.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $77.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $90.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $97.89.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

SAH stock opened at $82.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. The company has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.86. The business's fifty day moving average is $88.99 and its 200-day moving average is $74.73. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.11 and a twelve month high of $113.67.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.78 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 1.37%.Sonic Automotive's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Sonic Automotive's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Jeff Dyke sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.97, for a total value of $4,148,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 111,622 shares in the company, valued at $9,261,277.34. This trade represents a 30.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 100,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,408,160. 43.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sonic Automotive Profile

Sonic Automotive, Inc is a publicly traded automotive retailer that operates a network of franchised new-car dealerships and used-vehicle dealerships across the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the company offers a range of services that include vehicle sales, leasing, finance and insurance products, service and parts, and collision repair. Sonic Automotive's dealerships represent numerous major automotive brands, and the company also markets a broad selection of pre-owned vehicles under its own banner.

In addition to its core dealership operations, Sonic Automotive has developed digital retail capabilities that allow customers to research, shop and complete transactions online.

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