SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases 10,246 Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) by 266.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,096 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,246 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $803,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SAH. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Sonic Automotive by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,557,344 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,658,000 after purchasing an additional 20,058 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 80,957 shares of the company's stock worth $5,129,000 after purchasing an additional 27,726 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Sonic Automotive by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 291,133 shares of the company's stock worth $18,443,000 after purchasing an additional 18,232 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 54.4% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 45,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,851,000 after buying an additional 15,849 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 93.1% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 20,010 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,268,000 after buying an additional 9,646 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company's stock.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE SAH opened at $77.51 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $67.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.38. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $51.27 and a one year high of $78.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.04, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.02.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.47 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 19.42%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Sonic Automotive's payout ratio is 19.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SAH shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $93.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sonic Automotive news, President Jeff Dyke sold 576 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $40,331.52. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 605,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,389,617.86. This trade represents a 0.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,000 shares of company stock worth $3,502,062. 42.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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