Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Needham & Company LLC Analyst Says

Key Points

• Analysts at Needham & Company LLC have increased their price target for Sonic Automotive from $74.00 to $95.00, indicating a potential upside of 25.47% from the previous close.
• The company reported earnings of $2.19 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.56, with a revenue of $3.66 billion.
• Insider selling has occurred recently, with President Jeff Dyke selling over 31,000 shares, representing a 4.89% decrease in his ownership.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $74.00 to $95.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price points to a potential upside of 25.47% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on SAH. Benchmark initiated coverage on Sonic Automotive in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.29.

Sonic Automotive Trading Down 5.3%

Shares of NYSE:SAH opened at $75.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.38. Sonic Automotive has a 1 year low of $52.00 and a 1 year high of $89.62. The company has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 1.04. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $77.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.36.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.66 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 19.42% and a net margin of 1.69%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Sonic Automotive will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonic Automotive

In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 31,152 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.05, for a total value of $2,182,197.60. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 605,969 shares in the company, valued at $42,448,128.45. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 50,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,502,062 over the last 90 days. 42.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 38.2% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 14,286 shares of the company's stock worth $814,000 after buying an additional 3,952 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Sonic Automotive by 266.1% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,096 shares of the company's stock valued at $803,000 after purchasing an additional 10,246 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Sonic Automotive by 6,802.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,734 shares of the company's stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 11,564 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Sonic Automotive by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,557,344 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,658,000 after purchasing an additional 20,058 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Sonic Automotive by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 80,957 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,129,000 after purchasing an additional 27,726 shares during the period. 46.92% of the stock is currently 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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