Teacher Retirement System of Texas Grows Stake in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) by 38.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,286 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,952 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $814,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 44.4% during the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 6,500 shares of the company's stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Sonic Automotive by 266.1% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,096 shares of the company's stock worth $803,000 after purchasing an additional 10,246 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Sonic Automotive by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 62,994 shares of the company's stock worth $3,588,000 after purchasing an additional 6,633 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Sonic Automotive by 6,802.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,734 shares of the company's stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 11,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Phocas Financial Corp. grew its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 86.6% in the 4th quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 116,343 shares of the company's stock worth $7,370,000 after buying an additional 54,008 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.92% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SAH shares. Bank of America raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Benchmark initiated coverage on Sonic Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $64.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $93.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonic Automotive

In related news, President Jeff Dyke sold 576 shares of Sonic Automotive stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $40,331.52. Following the completion of the sale, the president 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,502,062. 42.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE SAH opened at $88.75 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $74.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.37. The company has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.04. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.00 and a 52 week high of $89.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.02. The business 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 business's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Sonic Automotive's payout ratio is 19.94%.

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.

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