Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) Receives $80.75 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $80.75.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SAH shares. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $71.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Friday, October 31st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 72,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,152,000 after buying an additional 1,851 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 50.5% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 124,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,083,000 after acquiring an additional 41,722 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 2.0% in the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 88,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,063,000 after acquiring an additional 1,785 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the first quarter worth approximately $1,940,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 1st quarter worth $218,000. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of Sonic Automotive stock opened at $61.24 on Friday. Sonic Automotive has a 12 month low of $52.00 and a 12 month high of $89.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.76.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.41). Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 0.86%.The business had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive will post 6.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is 41.08%.

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.