Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Key Points

• Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Sonic Automotive by 19.2%, selling 12,086 shares, leaving them with approximately 50,908 shares valued at $4,069,000.
• Sonic Automotive recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, an increase from the previous $0.35, reflecting a 1.9% dividend yield.
• In terms of analyst ratings, Sonic Automotive currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $79.86, and it has been rated with varying opinions from "Strong Buy" to "Sell" by different analysts.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) by 19.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,908 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,086 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned 0.15% of Sonic Automotive worth $4,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at $84,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the first quarter valued at $218,000. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at $219,000. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 1st quarter worth $238,000. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at about $247,000. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company's stock.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

Shares of Sonic Automotive stock traded down $1.46 on Friday, hitting $78.42. 250,457 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 223,887. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.00 and a 12-month high of $89.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. The company has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $79.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.68.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.47 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 earnings per share 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 $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This is an increase from Sonic Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Sonic Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on SAH. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Zacks Research cut shares of Sonic Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $80.57.

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.