PharVision Advisers LLC Makes New $247,000 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 bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,331 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SAH. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted 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 in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the first quarter valued at approximately $7,317,000. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 111.4% during the first quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 123,724 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,047,000 after acquiring an additional 65,198 shares in the last quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 86.6% during the fourth quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 116,343 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,370,000 after acquiring an additional 54,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 208.4% during the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 63,769 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,632,000 after acquiring an additional 43,089 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company's stock.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Sonic Automotive stock traded down $2.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $80.50. 49,304 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 223,661. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $80.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96 and a beta of 0.98. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $52.00 and a one year high of $89.62. 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 (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. This is an increase from Sonic Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Sonic Automotive's dividend payout ratio is 33.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SAH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Benchmark boosted 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. Zacks Research downgraded Sonic Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sonic Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, June 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.