PharVision Advisers LLC Makes New Investment in Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Key Points

• PharVision Advisers LLC has made a new investment in Sonic Automotive by acquiring 4,331 shares valued at approximately $247,000.
• Analysts have mixed views on Sonic Automotive, with some upgrading their target prices, while Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating.
• Sonic Automotive recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, an increase from its previous $0.35 dividend, yielding approximately 1.8%.

PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,331 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SAH. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 133,044 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $7,317,000. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 111.4% during the 1st quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 123,724 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,047,000 after purchasing an additional 65,198 shares during the last quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 86.6% during the 4th quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 116,343 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,370,000 after purchasing an additional 54,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 208.4% during the 1st quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 63,769 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,632,000 after purchasing an additional 43,089 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SAH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded Sonic Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Sonic Automotive from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Bank of America boosted 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. Benchmark boosted their target price on Sonic Automotive from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Sonic Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. 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 given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.86.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of Sonic Automotive stock opened at $82.98 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $80.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.96. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.44 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.00 and a 52 week high of $89.62.

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

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a positive change from Sonic Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Sonic Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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