Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) Receives $53.40 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) have received an average rating of “Reduce” from the four brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $53.40.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet raised Sonic Automotive from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Sonic Automotive by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,312,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,283,000 after purchasing an additional 33,306 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its position in Sonic Automotive by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 920,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,900,000 after purchasing an additional 26,280 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Sonic Automotive by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 867,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,001,000 after purchasing an additional 17,772 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management LLC raised its position in Sonic Automotive by 411.5% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management LLC now owns 633,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,442,000 after purchasing an additional 509,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its position in Sonic Automotive by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 578,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,445,000 after purchasing an additional 13,092 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

SAH opened at $56.94 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 1.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $53.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10. Sonic Automotive has a 12-month low of $39.02 and a 12-month high of $60.24.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.17). Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 28.06% and a net margin of 1.24%. The firm had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.61 EPS. Sonic Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.14%.

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.