HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Key Points

• HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 111.4%, acquiring an additional 65,198 shares during the first quarter.
• Sonic Automotive reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.19, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.63, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 5.9% to $3.66 billion.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.38 per share, reflecting a positive change from its previous dividend of $0.35, marking an annual yield of 1.9%.

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) by 111.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 123,724 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 65,198 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC owned about 0.36% of Sonic Automotive worth $7,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAH. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in Sonic Automotive during the first quarter worth about $218,000. Mariner LLC bought a new position in Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter worth about $225,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the fourth quarter worth $261,000. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonic Automotive

In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $40,331.52. Following the sale, the president directly owned 605,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,389,617.86. This represents a 0.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,502,062. 42.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on SAH shares. Benchmark boosted their target price on Sonic Automotive from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $72.00 target price (up from $65.00) on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of 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 given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.86.

Sonic Automotive Trading Up 4.8%

NYSE SAH traded up $3.7230 during trading on Friday, hitting $81.9930. The company had a trading volume of 239,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 246,067. The company's fifty day moving average is $79.46 and its 200-day moving average is $70.34. The company has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.22 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $2.19 earnings per share 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 company's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Sonic Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Sonic Automotive's payout ratio is currently 31.11%.

Sonic Automotive Company 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.