Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC Takes Position in Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Key Points

• Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC acquired 22,936 shares of Sonic Automotive, valued at approximately $1.3 million, representing 0.07% of the company's total shares.
• Sonic Automotive recently announced a dividend increase from $0.35 to $0.38 per share, indicating a strong annualized dividend yield of 1.9%.
• Despite various analyst rating changes, the overall consensus for Sonic Automotive is a "Moderate Buy" rating, with an average target price of $79.86.

Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC purchased a new stake in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 22,936 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,306,000. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC owned 0.07% of Sonic Automotive at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 26.2% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 641,237 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,525,000 after acquiring an additional 133,044 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 476,107 shares of the company's stock worth $30,161,000 after buying an additional 17,965 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 0.3% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 291,941 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,629,000 after acquiring an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 128,835 shares of the company's stock worth $8,162,000 after acquiring an additional 1,386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the 1st quarter worth about $7,317,000. 46.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

SAH stock traded down $0.20 on Thursday, reaching $84.37. The company had a trading volume of 245,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 227,760. The company has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75 and a beta of 0.99. The company's fifty day moving average is $79.84 and its 200 day moving average is $70.53. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.00 and a 1 year high of $89.62. 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 (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This is an increase from Sonic Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Sonic Automotive's payout ratio is 31.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 576 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $40,331.52. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 605,393 shares in the company, valued at $42,389,617.86. This trade represents a 0.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 42.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens cut shares of Sonic Automotive from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $72.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America upped 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. Wall Street Zen lowered Sonic Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Benchmark increased their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. One equities research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.86.

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.