Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Price Target Raised to $92.00 at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays raised Sonic Automotive’s price target from $77 to $92 while keeping an equal weight rating, implying roughly flat downside from the current share price.
• Other analysts have also been active on SAH, including UBS and Bank of America boosting targets and maintaining buy ratings, while the overall Wall Street consensus remains Hold with an average target of $90.67.
• Sonic Automotive recently beat quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.62 per share versus $1.40 expected, and the stock was trading at $92.30 with a market cap of about $2.92 billion.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by analysts at Barclays from $77.00 to $92.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Barclays's price objective points to a potential downside of 0.32% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on SAH. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $90.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings cut Sonic Automotive from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Sonic Automotive from $77.00 to $76.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $90.67.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

Shares of SAH stock opened at $92.30 on Wednesday. Sonic Automotive has a twelve month low of $54.11 and a twelve month high of $99.02. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 29.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.60.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sonic Automotive news, President Jeff Dyke sold 35,114 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.22, for a total transaction of $2,992,415.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 543,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,331,386.96. The trade was a 6.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 100,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,408,160. Company insiders own 43.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Sonic Automotive

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. A&I Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 0.9% in the second quarter. A&I Financial Services LLC now owns 11,755 shares of the company's stock worth $997,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the second quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 64.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 131,302 shares of the company's stock worth $9,003,000 after purchasing an additional 51,420 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 10,043 shares of the company's stock valued at $689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 88,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,043,000 after purchasing an additional 9,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company's stock.

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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