Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eleven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $83.00.

SAH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price target on Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Sonic Automotive from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price target on Sonic Automotive from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th.

Sonic Automotive Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of SAH stock opened at $84.90 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.04, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.88. Sonic Automotive has a 1-year low of $54.11 and a 1-year high of $89.62.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 22.45% and a net margin of 0.72%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sonic Automotive will post 6.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This is a positive change from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.41%.

Insider Activity at Sonic Automotive

In related news, President Jeff Dyke sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.97, for a total transaction of $4,148,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 111,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,261,277.34. The trade was a 30.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 43.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sonic Automotive

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 124.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 355,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,239,000 after buying an additional 197,336 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at $8,450,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at $7,384,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at $7,450,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,646,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,278,000 after buying an additional 96,836 shares in the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Sonic Automotive

Sonic Automotive, Inc is a publicly traded automotive retailer that operates a network of franchised new-car dealerships and used-vehicle dealerships across the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the company offers a range of services that include vehicle sales, leasing, finance and insurance products, service and parts, and collision repair. Sonic Automotive’s dealerships represent numerous major automotive brands, and the company also markets a broad selection of pre-owned vehicles under its own banner.

In addition to its core dealership operations, Sonic Automotive has developed digital retail capabilities that allow customers to research, shop and complete transactions online.