Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH Shares Sold by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. by 2.2%, owning approximately 252,456 shares worth $14.38 million after selling 5,654 shares in the first quarter.
• Sonic Automotive reported earnings of $2.19 per share, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.63, alongside a quarterly revenue of $3.66 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 5.9%.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38 to be paid on October 15, marking an increase from the previous dividend of $0.35.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 252,456 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,654 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.74% of Sonic Automotive worth $14,380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAH. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Sonic Automotive by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,349 shares of the company's stock worth $910,000 after purchasing an additional 973 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Sonic Automotive by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 291,133 shares of the company's stock worth $18,443,000 after purchasing an additional 18,232 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Sonic Automotive by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 111,738 shares of the company's stock worth $7,079,000 after purchasing an additional 5,358 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Sonic Automotive by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 83,563 shares of the company's stock worth $5,294,000 after purchasing an additional 5,746 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the 4th quarter worth about $1,341,000. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SAH shares. Bank of America raised their target price on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Stephens cut Sonic Automotive from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $72.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "underweight" rating and set a $72.00 target price (up from $65.00) on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Sonic Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.86.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

SAH traded down $2.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $80.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 36,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 223,576. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.30. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.00 and a 1 year high of $89.62. The company has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. 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. Sonic Automotive's payout ratio is 33.78%.

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.