Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Upgraded at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) from an underperform rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $68.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $55.00.

SAH has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Sonic Automotive from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet raised Sonic Automotive from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Sonic Automotive from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $56.00.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

SAH stock opened at $62.35 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $52.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.00. The stock has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 1.82. Sonic Automotive has a fifty-two week low of $39.02 and a fifty-two week high of $64.68. 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 (NYSE:SAH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 27.69% and a net margin of 1.21%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 35,366.7% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 2,122 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive in the third quarter valued at about $135,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Sonic Automotive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $185,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.