Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Earns Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• Needham & Company LLC has reaffirmed a "buy" rating for Sonic Automotive (SAH) with a price target of $95.00, indicating a potential upside of 30.94%.
• Sonic Automotive reported earnings of $2.19 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, while its revenue grew by 5.9% year-over-year.
• Insider trading activity shows that 42.65% of the company’s stock is owned by insiders, with recent sales indicating ongoing confidence from leadership.

Needham & Company LLC reissued their buy rating on shares of Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $95.00 target price on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $64.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark upped their target price on Sonic Automotive from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $72.00 target price (up from $65.00) on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Stephens cut shares of Sonic Automotive from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.86.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SAH traded up $1.34 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $74.40. The company had a trading volume of 166,816 shares, compared to its average volume of 285,444. Sonic Automotive has a twelve month low of $52.00 and a twelve month high of $89.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of 16.53 and a beta of 0.99. The firm's fifty day moving average is $78.38 and its 200 day moving average is $69.91.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.56. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 21.40% and a net margin of 1.07%. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.47 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive will post 6.14 EPS for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from Sonic Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Sonic Automotive's dividend payout ratio is 31.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonic Automotive

In other Sonic Automotive news, President Jeff Dyke sold 576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $40,331.52. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 605,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,389,617.86. This represents a 0.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 50,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,502,062 over the last ninety days. 42.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at about $84,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 1,429.7% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,545 shares of the company's stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 1,444 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at $185,000. Finally, Creative Planning bought a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the second quarter worth about $213,000. 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.