Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

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 trimmed its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) by 25.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 658,762 shares of the company's stock after selling 230,464 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned 1.94% of Sonic Automotive worth $37,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,370 shares of the company's stock valued at $530,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 2.0% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 22,581 shares of the company's stock worth $1,286,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,104 shares of the company's stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Sonic Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 291,941 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,629,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on SAH shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Sonic Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America upped their target price on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Stephens cut Sonic Automotive from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $72.00 target price (up from $65.00) on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.86.

Sonic Automotive Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of SAH traded down $1.29 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $83.29. 43,928 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 226,526. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.00 and a 1 year high of $89.62. The firm's fifty day moving average is $79.84 and its 200-day moving average is $70.53. 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 capitalization of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.51 and a beta of 0.99.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.56. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 21.40% and a net margin of 1.07%.The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.47 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from Sonic Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Sonic Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonic Automotive

In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 576 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 0.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 42.65% of the stock is 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.