Sonic Automotive (SAH) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Sonic Automotive, Inc., founded in 1997 and headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a leading automotive retailer in the United States. The company operates a diversified network of new and used vehicle dealerships, offering a broad array of domestic, import and luxury brands. Over its history, Sonic Automotive has expanded both organically and through strategic acquisitions, positioning itself among the nation’s largest dealers by retail sales. The company also manages a suite of parts and service operations, collision centers, and vehicle reconditioning facilities.

The core business activities of Sonic Automotive center on the sale and financing of new and pre-owned vehicles. Each dealership delivers end-to-end customer service, including trade appraisal, financing solutions, warranties, maintenance packages and aftermarket products. The company’s CarMax-style Omni-channel platform enhances the buying experience with features such as online scheduling, home delivery, and flexible pickup options. Additionally, Sonic Automotive operates branded service centers under the SONIC and EchoPark banners, providing repair, maintenance and certified pre-owned vehicle sales.

Geographically, Sonic Automotive has a footprint across more than 15 U.S. states, with concentrations in the Southeast, Midwest and Mountain West regions. The company leverages regional market expertise to tailor vehicle inventories and marketing strategies to local consumer preferences. Sonic’s digital infrastructure integrates dealership operations with an e-commerce presence, enabling real-time inventory management, virtual showrooms and finance applications. This omnichannel approach supports sustained growth in both urban and suburban markets.

Leadership at Sonic Automotive is headed by David E. Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer, who has guided the company through multiple phases of expansion and technological integration. Supported by an executive team overseeing operations, finance and digital transformation, Sonic Automotive continues to refine its customer-centric model. The company’s long-term strategy focuses on enhancing operational efficiency, deepening brand partnerships and investing in technology to meet evolving consumer expectations in the automotive retail sector.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $85.67 to $88.03
• 50-Day Range: $60.80 to $87.45
• 52-Week Range: $51.27 to $88.03
• Volume: 118,500 shs
• Average Volume: 195,998 shs
• Market Capitalization: $2.97 billion
• P/E Ratio: 12.46
• Dividend Yield: 1.60%
• Price Target: $74.71
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

Sonic Automotive Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Sonic Automotive scored higher than 90% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 40th out of 209 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: 1.4 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

Sonic Automotive has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.88, and is based on 5 buy ratings, 2 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Sonic Automotive has only been the subject of 4 research reports in the past 90 days.

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 12.46, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 25.66.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Sonic Automotive is 12.46, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Retail/Wholesale sector average P/E ratio of about 29.77.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Sonic Automotive has a PEG Ratio of 0.77. 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 2.81. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

11.36% 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 6.1.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Sonic Automotive has recently decreased by 7.01%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Moderate

Dividend Yield

Sonic Automotive pays a meaningful dividend of 1.60%, 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

11.36% 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 6.1.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Sonic Automotive has recently decreased by 7.01%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.3 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.17

News Sentiment

Sonic Automotive has a news sentiment score of 0.17. 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 lower news sentiment than the 0.68 average news sentiment score of Retail/Wholesale companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 6 news articles for Sonic Automotive this week, compared to 4 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

1 people have searched for SAH on MarketBeat in the last 30 days.

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 38.0% and is now trading at $87.45.

How were Sonic Automotive's earnings last quarter?

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) released its earnings results on Thursday, April, 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.02. The firm's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year.
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 more.

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

• Record date for 4/15 Dividend: 3/14/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 4/15 Dividend: 3/14/2025
• Dividend Payable: 4/15/2025
• Last Earnings: 4/24/2025
• Record date for 7/15 Dividend: 6/13/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 7/15 Dividend: 6/13/2025
• Today: 7/06/2025
• Dividend Payable: 7/15/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 8/04/2025
• 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 Stock Price Target: $74.71
• High Stock Price Target: $94.00
• Low Stock Price Target: $58.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: -14.6%
• 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: 12.46
• Forward P/E Ratio: 14.24
• P/E Growth: 0.77
• 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: 0.21
• Cash Flow: $9.72 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 9.00
• Book Value: $31.14 per share
• Price / Book: 2.81

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 33,960,000
• Free Float: 19,477,000
• Market Cap: $2.97 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.04