Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Position in Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,313,857 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,599 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $90,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SAH. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 992.5% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 437 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the third quarter worth approximately $78,000. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Jeff Dyke sold 35,114 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.22, for a total value of $2,992,415.08. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 543,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,331,386.96. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 100,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,408,160. Corporate insiders own 43.68% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SAH opened at $112.29 on Thursday. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.11 and a 52 week high of $113.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $87.78 and its 200-day moving average is $73.57. The firm has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of 35.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.89.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 0.72% and a return on equity of 22.45%. Sonic Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SAH. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $90.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Stephens set a $89.00 target price on Sonic Automotive in a report on Monday, July 13th. Citigroup increased their price target on Sonic Automotive from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.67.

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

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.