Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) PT Raised to $53.00

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) had its target price hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $48.00 to $53.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on SAH. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sonic Automotive from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Bank of America raised Sonic Automotive from an underperform rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Sonic Automotive from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Sonic Automotive from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $56.60.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SAH traded up $1.13 on Thursday, hitting $57.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 34,310 shares, compared to its average volume of 226,645. Sonic Automotive has a 1 year low of $39.02 and a 1 year high of $64.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.60.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.21% and a return on equity of 27.46%. Sonic Automotive’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive will post 5.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David Bruton Smith sold 3,861 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.43, for a total value of $237,181.23. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 this hyperlink. 42.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SAH. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Sonic Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 35,366.7% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 2,122 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 3rd quarter worth about $135,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 16.6% in the fourth 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 stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $185,000. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.