Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH Shares Sold by Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC sold 230,464 shares of Sonic Automotive, reducing its stake by 25.9% to approximately 658,762 shares worth $37.5 million.
• Sonic Automotive recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.35 to $0.38, with the dividend set to be paid on October 15th.
• The company's stock performance reflected a 52-week range between $52.00 and $89.62, and it reported a EPS of $2.19 for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates significantly.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) by 25.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 658,762 shares of the company's stock after selling 230,464 shares during the quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.94% of Sonic Automotive worth $37,523,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SAH. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 26.2% in 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at about $7,317,000. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 111.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. raised its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 86.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 50.5% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 124,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,083,000 after purchasing an additional 41,722 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 31,152 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.05, for a total value of $2,182,197.60. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 605,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,448,128.45. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,502,062. 42.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

NYSE SAH opened at $81.9930 on Friday. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.00 and a 52 week high of $89.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. The stock 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 50-day moving average price of $79.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.34.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.56. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.07% and a return on equity of 21.40%. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. Sonic Automotive's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 EPS 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 given a $0.38 dividend. This is a positive change from Sonic Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Sonic Automotive's payout ratio is currently 31.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SAH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sonic Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $72.00 price objective (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.

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