Sonic Automotive (SAH) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE: SAH) is one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States, offering a full suite of vehicle sales, service, parts, financing and collision repair services. Through its network of franchised dealerships, the company represents a broad array of domestic and import brands, catering to both new-car buyers and pre-owned customers. Sonic’s operations emphasize customer experience, leveraging digital tools and in-dealership support to streamline vehicle purchases, trade-ins and after-sale maintenance.

In addition to its traditional dealership footprint, Sonic Automotive has developed EchoPark, a standalone used-vehicle retail concept designed around a no-haggle pricing model and a customer-centric shopping experience. EchoPark locations feature fixed pricing on high-quality, certified pre-owned vehicles, and offer home delivery, vehicle pickup and a one-price policy to simplify the purchasing process. This digitally enabled platform underpins Sonic’s efforts to capture market share in the growing online used-car segment.

Founded in 1997 by automotive entrepreneur O. Bruton Smith, Sonic Automotive has grown through a series of strategic acquisitions and greenfield dealership openings. The company went public later that year and has consistently expanded its geographic reach, often entering new markets via acquisition of established dealerships. Sonic has also invested in service and collision facilities to support its sales operations, ensuring customers have convenient access to maintenance and repair services in the same communities where they purchase vehicles.

Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Sonic Automotive operates across more than 20 states, with a concentration in the Southeast, Texas and select markets on the West Coast and Midwest. The company is governed by a board of directors that includes its founder, O. Bruton Smith, and is led by a senior management team with deep experience in automotive retail and finance. Sonic continues to pursue growth through dealership acquisitions, digital innovation and expanded consumer financing capabilities.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $76.07 to $83.27
• 50-Day Range: $64.90 to $88.75
• 52-Week Range: $52.00 to $89.62
• Volume: 510,953 shs
• Average Volume: 198,357 shs
• Market Capitalization: $2.59 billion
• P/E Ratio: 10.85
• Dividend Yield: 1.84%
• Price Target: $74.29
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

Sonic Automotive Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Sonic Automotive scored higher than 91% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 39th out of 212 stocks in the retail/wholesale sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 2.3 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

Sonic Automotive has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.50, and is based on 3 buy ratings, 3 hold ratings, and 1 sell rating.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Sonic Automotive has been the subject of 6 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 4.4 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 22.31%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Sonic Automotive are expected to grow by 22.31% in the coming year, from $6.14 to $7.51 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Sonic Automotive is 10.85, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 26.50.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Sonic Automotive is 10.85, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Retail/Wholesale sector average P/E ratio of about 29.78.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Sonic Automotive has a PEG Ratio of 0.75. PEG Ratios below 1 indicate that a company could be undervalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Sonic Automotive has a P/B Ratio of 2.45. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 1.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Bearish

Percentage of Shares Shorted

11.27% of the float of Sonic Automotive has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Sonic Automotive has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 6.6.

Change versus previous month

Dividend

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Moderate

Dividend Yield

Sonic Automotive pays a meaningful dividend of 1.65%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

Sonic Automotive has only been increasing its dividend for 4 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Sonic Automotive is 19.94%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Sonic Automotive will have a dividend payout ratio of 18.64% next year. This indicates that Sonic Automotive will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 0.2 / 5
• Environmental Score: -3.41

Percentage of Shares Shorted

11.27% of the float of Sonic Automotive has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Sonic Automotive has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 6.6.

Change versus previous month

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.8 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.02

News Sentiment

Sonic Automotive has a news sentiment score of 1.02. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.83 average news sentiment score of Retail/Wholesale companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 8 news articles for Sonic Automotive this week, compared to 4 articles on an average week.

Company Ownership

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Sonic Automotive insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $3,502,062.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

42.65% of the stock of Sonic Automotive is held by insiders. A high percentage of insider ownership can be a sign of company health.

Percentage Held by Institutions

46.92% of the stock of Sonic Automotive is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

SAH Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have SAH shares performed this year?

Sonic Automotive's stock was trading at $63.35 on January 1st, 2025. Since then, SAH shares have increased by 20.2% and is now trading at $76.1650.

How were Sonic Automotive's earnings last quarter?

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) 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 company's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis.
Read the conference call transcript.

Does Sonic Automotive have any subsidiaries?

Sonic Automotive subsidiaries include AM GA LLC, AM Realty GA LLC, AnTrev LLC, Arngar Inc., Autobahn Inc., Avalon Ford Inc., Car Cash of North Carolina Inc., and others.

Who are Sonic Automotive's major shareholders?

Sonic Automotive's top institutional investors include Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. (0.15%), Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio (0.12%), Janney Montgomery Scott LLC (0.08%) and Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC (0.07%). Insiders that own company stock include Jeff Dyke, David Bruton Smith and Heath Byrd.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Sonic Automotive?

Shares of SAH stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of Sonic Automotive own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Sonic Automotive investors own include American Water Works (AWK), Waste Connections (WCN), Humana (HUM), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH), The RMR Group (RMR), AU Optronics (AUOTY) and iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 4/24/2025
• Record date for 7/15 Dividend: 6/13/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 7/15 Dividend: 6/13/2025
• Dividend Payable: 7/15/2025
• Today: 7/17/2025
• Next Earnings (Confirmed): 7/24/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Retail/Wholesale
• Industry: RET/WHLSL AUTO/TRUCK
• Sub-Industry: Automotive Retail
• Current Symbol: NYSE:SAH
• CIK: 1043509
• Web: www.sonicautomotive.com
• Phone: (704) 566-2400
• Fax: 302-655-5049
• Employees: 10,800
• Year Founded: 1997

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Sonic Automotive: $74.71
• High Price Target: $94.00
• Low Price Target: $58.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: -12.4%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.88
• Research Coverage: 8 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $7.02
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 12.14
• Forward P/E Ratio: 13.88
• P/E Growth: 0.75
• Net Income: $216 million
• Net Margins: 1.69%
• Pretax Margin: 2.04%
• Return on Equity: 19.42%
• Return on Assets: 3.42%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 1.67
• Current Ratio: 1.09
• Quick Ratio: 0.38

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $14.22 billion
• Price / Sales: 0.20
• Cash Flow: $9.78 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 8.72
• Book Value: $31.14 per share
• Price / Book: 2.74

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 33,960,000
• Free Float: 19,477,000
• Market Cap: $2.90 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.04