UBS Group AG Reduces Stock Holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Key Points

• UBS Group AG cut its Sonic Automotive stake by 36% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 61,999 shares valued at about $3.8 million. Even so, institutional investors still own nearly 47% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but mostly cautious, with three Buy ratings, six Hold ratings, and one Sell rating. The stock’s average Wall Street target price is $82.13, while several firms recently raised their price targets.
• Sonic Automotive posted a quarterly earnings beat and raised its dividend, reporting EPS of $1.62 versus estimates of $1.40 and increasing its quarterly payout to $0.41 per share from $0.38. The new dividend implies an annual yield of about 2.1%.

UBS Group AG lowered its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) by 36.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,999 shares of the company's stock after selling 34,819 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned 0.18% of Sonic Automotive worth $3,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,426 shares of the company's stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,858 shares of the company's stock valued at $177,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 12.4% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 992.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 437 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,829 shares of the company's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SAH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens decreased their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $82.13.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

NYSE SAH opened at $78.02 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.89. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.11 and a 1-year high of $89.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $69.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.11.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 22.45% and a net margin of 0.72%.The company's revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is a boost from Sonic Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Sonic Automotive's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.41%.

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

Sonic Automotive, Inc is a publicly traded automotive retailer that operates a network of franchised new-car dealerships and used-vehicle dealerships across the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the company offers a range of services that include vehicle sales, leasing, finance and insurance products, service and parts, and collision repair. Sonic Automotive's dealerships represent numerous major automotive brands, and the company also markets a broad selection of pre-owned vehicles under its own banner.

In addition to its core dealership operations, Sonic Automotive has developed digital retail capabilities that allow customers to research, shop and complete transactions online.

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