Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Barclays started coverage on Sonic Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $71.00 target price for the company. Citigroup raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.25.

Sonic Automotive Trading Down 1.3%

SAH stock opened at $63.24 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.02. Sonic Automotive has a one year low of $52.00 and a one year high of $89.62. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $63.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.43.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.41). The business had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 0.86% and a return on equity of 21.65%. Sonic Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Sonic Automotive will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SAH. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 13,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $795,000 after purchasing an additional 3,777 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 13.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 23,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 2,793 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 5.8% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Sonic Automotive by 124.9% during the first 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 during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 38,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,204,000 after buying an additional 5,286 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

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.