Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts’ consensus rating is “Hold” for Sonic Automotive, with six buys, three holds and two sells among 11 analysts. The average 12-month price target is $97.89.
• Sonic Automotive reported quarterly EPS of $1.82, beating estimates of $1.75, while revenue reached $3.93 billion and grew 7.6% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, equivalent to an annualized $1.64 payout and a 2.0% yield; insiders have sold 100,000 shares over the past three months.

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $97.8889.

A number of research firms have issued reports on SAH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Stephens set a $89.00 price objective on Sonic Automotive in a report on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research raised Sonic Automotive from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners downgraded Sonic Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, July 17th.

Sonic Automotive Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:SAH opened at $80.68 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.86. Sonic Automotive has a fifty-two week low of $54.11 and a fifty-two week high of $113.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The stock's 50-day moving average is $88.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.46.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.37% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Sonic Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Jeff Dyke sold 35,114 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.22, for a total value of $2,992,415.08. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 543,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,331,386.96. The trade was a 6.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 100,000 shares of company stock worth $8,408,160. 43.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Sonic Automotive by 3.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,313,857 shares of the company's stock worth $90,088,000 after acquiring an additional 48,599 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 701,133 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,623,000 after purchasing an additional 62,426 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 510,963 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,608,000 after purchasing an additional 54,455 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 383,117 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,151,000 after purchasing an additional 65,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 375,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,204,000 after purchasing an additional 4,443 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company's stock.

About Sonic Automotive

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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