Engineers Gate Manager LP Has $2.58 Million Holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Engineers Gate Manager LP reduced its stake in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 70.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,439 shares of the company’s stock after selling 72,405 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP’s holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $2,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 64.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 131,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,003,000 after purchasing an additional 51,420 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Sonic Automotive by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,313,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,088,000 after buying an additional 48,599 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,799,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at $8,450,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 80.5% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 37,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,577,000 after buying an additional 16,753 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of SAH opened at $76.49 on Tuesday. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.11 and a 12 month high of $113.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.90.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 1.37%.The firm had revenue of $3.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SAH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Stephens set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $90.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Sonic Automotive from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sonic Automotive has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.33.

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

Sonic Automotive, Inc is an automotive retailer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company operates franchised dealerships that sell new and pre-owned vehicles from a range of automobile manufacturers, along with replacement parts, vehicle maintenance and repair services, financing, insurance products and other related offerings.

Sonic also operates EchoPark Automotive, a retail platform focused primarily on high-quality pre-owned vehicles. Through its dealership and EchoPark operations, the company provides vehicle purchasing, trade-in, financing and service options to consumers.

Founded in 1997, Sonic Automotive serves customers through locations across the United States.