Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 3,380 Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Key Points

• Contravisory Investment Management Inc. has made a new investment of $270,000 in Sonic Automotive, purchasing 3,380 shares during the second quarter.
• Sonic Automotive reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.19, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a year-over-year revenue growth of 5.9%.
• The company has declared a new quarterly dividend of $0.38, which reflects an increase from the previous dividend and a yield of 1.9%.

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 38.2% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 14,286 shares of the company's stock valued at $814,000 after buying an additional 3,952 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 266.1% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,096 shares of the company's stock worth $803,000 after purchasing an additional 10,246 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 6,802.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,734 shares of the company's stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 11,564 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 23.0% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 25,341 shares of the company's stock worth $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 4,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,940,000. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sonic Automotive Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE SAH traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $78.38. 206,716 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 176,713. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.00 and a 52-week high of $89.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of 17.42 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.66 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.07% and a return on equity of 21.40%. Sonic Automotive's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on SAH shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Sonic Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sonic Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Stephens lowered shares of Sonic Automotive from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $72.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonic Automotive presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $80.57.

Sonic Automotive 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.