Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys Shares of 31,482 Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 31,482 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,770,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.09% of Sonic Automotive as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 2,718.9% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 29,880 shares of the company's stock worth $1,427,000 after purchasing an additional 28,820 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $328,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 381,211 shares of the company's stock worth $18,207,000 after purchasing an additional 16,117 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 57,581 shares of the company's stock worth $2,750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118 shares during the period. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $314,000. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SAH has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut Sonic Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Sonic Automotive from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet upgraded Sonic Automotive from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Sonic Automotive from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.40.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

Shares of SAH stock traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $52.76. 203,109 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 211,121. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.02 and a twelve month high of $60.24. The firm has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 1.82. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $53.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.17). Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 28.06%. The firm had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.61 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Sonic Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.14%.

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.