Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Reaches New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) 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. The stock had previously closed at $87.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SAH. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Sonic Automotive from $93.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup started coverage on Sonic Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $64.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Benchmark started coverage on Sonic Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Sonic Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.71.

Sonic Automotive Trading Up 0.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $73.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.84.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 19.42% and a net margin of 1.69%. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Sonic Automotive's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.94%.

Insider Transactions at Sonic Automotive

In related news, President Jeff Dyke sold 31,152 shares of the company'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 directly owned 605,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,448,128.45. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 50,000 shares of company stock worth $3,502,062. Corporate insiders own 42.65% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Sonic Automotive

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAH. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 124.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 355,328 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,239,000 after purchasing an additional 197,336 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 26.2% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 641,237 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,525,000 after purchasing an additional 133,044 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at about $7,317,000. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 111.4% during the 1st quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 123,724 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,047,000 after purchasing an additional 65,198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Phocas Financial Corp. grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 86.6% during the 4th quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 116,343 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,370,000 after purchasing an additional 54,008 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.