Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Acquires Shares of 34,804 Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Key Points

• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired 34,804 shares of Sonic Automotive worth approximately $2.95 million, while institutional investors collectively own 46.92% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: six analysts rate the stock a Buy, three rate it Hold, and two rate it Sell, producing a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $97.33.
• Sonic Automotive exceeded quarterly expectations with $1.82 in EPS and $3.93 billion in revenue, while announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, representing a 2.0% yield.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 34,804 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,951,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned about 0.11% of Sonic Automotive as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SAH. A&I Financial Services LLC increased its position in Sonic Automotive by 0.9% in the second quarter. A&I Financial Services LLC now owns 11,755 shares of the company's stock worth $997,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Sonic Automotive by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,577 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 5,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 27,409 shares of the company's stock worth $1,696,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SAH shares. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $90.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Sonic Automotive from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $72.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Stephens set a $89.00 price target on Sonic Automotive in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $97.33.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SAH opened at $80.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.11 and a 1-year high of $113.67. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $87.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.19.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 1.37%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.19 EPS. Research analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Sonic Automotive's payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.97, for a total transaction of $4,148,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 111,622 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,261,277.34. This trade represents a 30.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 100,000 shares of company stock worth $8,408,160. Corporate insiders own 43.68% of the company's stock.

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

Sonic Automotive, Inc is a publicly traded automotive retailer that operates a network of franchised new-car dealerships and used-vehicle dealerships across the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the company offers a range of services that include vehicle sales, leasing, finance and insurance products, service and parts, and collision repair. Sonic Automotive's dealerships represent numerous major automotive brands, and the company also markets a broad selection of pre-owned vehicles under its own banner.

In addition to its core dealership operations, Sonic Automotive has developed digital retail capabilities that allow customers to research, shop and complete transactions online.

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