Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $85.17, but opened at $82.47. Sonic Automotive shares last traded at $77.20, with a volume of 100,105 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SAH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens cut Sonic Automotive from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $72.00 price target (up from $65.00) on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.29.

Sonic Automotive Trading Down 10.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.85, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.04. The firm's 50 day moving average is $76.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.77.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 19.42%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 EPS for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Sonic Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonic Automotive

In related news, President Jeff Dyke sold 576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $40,331.52. Following the sale, the president owned 605,393 shares in the company, valued at $42,389,617.86. This represents a 0.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,502,062. Corporate insiders own 42.65% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 7,451 shares of the company's stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 0.9% in the second quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 23,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,850,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,370 shares of the company's stock valued at $530,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 20,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,305,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 2.0% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 22,581 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,286,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the period. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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