Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Bank of America Analyst Says

Key Points

• Bank of America raised its price target on Sonic Automotive to $108 from $91 and kept a buy rating, implying about 22.9% upside from the current price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed overall: the stock has multiple buy and hold ratings, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $84.56.
• Sonic Automotive recently beat EPS expectations, reporting $1.62 per share versus the $1.40 estimate, though revenue came in slightly below forecasts at $3.69 billion.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Bank of America from $91.00 to $108.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Bank of America's target price would suggest a potential upside of 22.89% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on SAH. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Sonic Automotive from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 target price on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $84.56.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 0.7%

SAH opened at $87.88 on Thursday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $81.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.78. Sonic Automotive has a 52 week low of $54.11 and a 52 week high of $89.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. The stock has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 27.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.89.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Sonic Automotive will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonic Automotive

In related news, President Jeff Dyke sold 35,114 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.22, for a total value 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. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 100,000 shares of company stock worth $8,408,160. Insiders own 43.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 197,336 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 1st quarter worth about $8,450,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,384,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the third quarter worth about $7,450,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 70.8% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 181,189 shares of the company's stock worth $11,208,000 after purchasing an additional 75,125 shares during the period. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Sonic Automotive

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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