Petrus Trust Company LTA Invests $866,000 in Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Key Points

• Petrus Trust Company LTA acquired 15,207 shares of Sonic Automotive, valued at approximately $866,000, marking a new investment in the company during the first quarter of 2023.
• Sonic Automotive announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.35 to $0.38 per share, effective October 15th, representing a yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 31.11%.
• The company's earnings report revealed a significant increase in EPS to $2.19, surpassing analyst expectations of $1.63, while revenue remained stable at $3.66 billion.

Petrus Trust Company LTA purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 15,207 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $866,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 26.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 476,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,161,000 after acquiring an additional 17,965 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 0.3% in the 1st 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 increased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 128,835 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,162,000 after acquiring an additional 1,386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at $7,317,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SAH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Sonic Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Stephens lowered Sonic Automotive from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $72.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $72.00 target price (up from $65.00) on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.86.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:SAH traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $83.25. 178,140 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 180,736. 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 company has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $80.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.13. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $52.00 and a one year high of $89.62.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

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

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.