Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Given New $108.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Bank of America from $91.00 to $108.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Bank of America‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 22.89% from the company’s previous close.

SAH has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.56.

Sonic Automotive Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE SAH opened at $87.88 on Thursday. Sonic Automotive has a 12 month low of $54.11 and a 12 month high of $89.62. The stock has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $81.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 22.45% and a net margin of 0.72%.Sonic Automotive’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive will post 6.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 50,000 shares of Sonic Automotive stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.97, for a total transaction of $4,148,500.00. Following the transaction, the president owned 111,622 shares in the company, valued at $9,261,277.34. This trade represents a 30.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 100,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,408,160 in the last 90 days. 43.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the second quarter valued at about $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 64.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 131,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,003,000 after buying an additional 51,420 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 10,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $689,000 after buying an additional 1,178 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 88,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,043,000 after acquiring an additional 9,100 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 46,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,166,000 after acquiring an additional 3,293 shares in the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.