Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) CEO David Bruton Smith Sells 3,861 Shares

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) CEO David Bruton Smith sold 3,861 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.43, for a total value of $237,181.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 583,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,817,007.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Sonic Automotive Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SAH opened at $57.32 on Thursday. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.02 and a 12-month high of $64.68. The business has a 50 day moving average of $52.82 and a 200-day moving average of $52.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11. The stock has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 1.75.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.06. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 1.21%. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.45 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is 24.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SAH. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,473,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Sonic Automotive by 4.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 381,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,207,000 after acquiring an additional 16,117 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in Sonic Automotive by 1,841.9% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 301,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,401,000 after purchasing an additional 285,999 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 705.8% in the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 67,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,204,000 after purchasing an additional 58,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 57,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118 shares during the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SAH has been the subject of a number of research reports. TheStreet upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.00.

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

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.