Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Reaches New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $88.57 and last traded at $87.73, with a volume of 39852 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $87.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on SAH shares. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Sonic Automotive from $93.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Sonic Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.71.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $74.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.14.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.47 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 19.42% and a net margin of 1.69%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Sonic Automotive's dividend payout ratio is 19.94%.

Insider Transactions at Sonic Automotive

In other Sonic Automotive news, President Jeff Dyke sold 31,152 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.05, for a total transaction of $2,182,197.60. Following the transaction, the president owned 605,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,448,128.45. This trade represents a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 50,000 shares of company stock worth $3,502,062 in the last quarter. 42.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAH. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 266.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,096 shares of the company's stock worth $803,000 after purchasing an additional 10,246 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 6,802.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,734 shares of the company's stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 11,564 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 80,957 shares of the company's stock worth $5,129,000 after purchasing an additional 27,726 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,557,344 shares of the company's stock worth $98,658,000 after purchasing an additional 20,058 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 291,133 shares of the company's stock worth $18,443,000 after purchasing an additional 18,232 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company's stock.

Sonic Automotive Company 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.