Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) was downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a shift in analysts' outlook on the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, several other analysts have raised their price targets, with the average target now at $83.71 and nine analysts giving the stock ratings ranging from Strong Buy to Sell.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.19, surpassing analyst expectations and reflecting a year-over-year revenue increase of 5.9%.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday.

SAH has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Benchmark lifted their target price on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $83.71.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

Sonic Automotive stock opened at $74.76 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $78.46 and its 200 day moving average is $73.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61 and a beta of 0.95. Sonic Automotive has a one year low of $52.00 and a one year high of $89.62.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SAH. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 124.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 355,328 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,239,000 after acquiring an additional 197,336 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 26.2% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 641,237 shares of the company's stock worth $36,525,000 after buying an additional 133,044 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the first quarter worth $7,317,000. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the second quarter worth $6,564,000. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 111.4% during the first quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 123,724 shares of the company's stock worth $7,047,000 after buying an additional 65,198 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company's stock.

About Sonic Automotive

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.