Cetera Investment Advisers Makes New $218,000 Investment in Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers has invested approximately $218,000 in Sonic Automotive by purchasing 3,824 shares during the first quarter.
• Sonic Automotive recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, raising the annualized dividend to $1.52, representing a yield of 1.9%.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for Sonic Automotive, with a consensus target of $79.86, indicating a mixed outlook with ratings from "Strong Buy" to "Sell."

Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Mariner LLC bought a new position in Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter worth about $225,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $242,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $261,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $282,000. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company's stock.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SAH traded up $1.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $84.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 119,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 224,889. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.03. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.00 and a fifty-two week high of $89.62. The business's 50 day moving average price is $79.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.53. The company has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76 and a beta of 0.99.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.07% and a return on equity of 21.40%. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This is a boost from Sonic Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Sonic Automotive's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sonic Automotive news, President Jeff Dyke sold 576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the president directly owned 605,393 shares in the company, valued at $42,389,617.86. This represents a 0.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 33,566 shares of company stock worth $2,351,189 in the last three months. 42.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Stephens cut Sonic Automotive from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.86.

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.