Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Stock Price Target Lowered at Barclays

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) had its price objective decreased by Barclays from $75.00 to $73.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on SAH. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $139.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $72.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.62.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 5.3%

Shares of NYSE SAH opened at $63.88 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.08. Sonic Automotive has a 1 year low of $54.11 and a 1 year high of $113.67.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.36). The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.33% and a return on equity of 20.05%. Sonic Automotive’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sonic Automotive will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is 26.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonic Automotive

In related news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak purchased 27,756 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.76 per share, with a total value of $1,658,698.56. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 5,149,401 shares in the company, valued at $307,728,203.76. The trade was a 0.54% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders acquired 76,776 shares of company stock valued at $4,584,694 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 43.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 106.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 27,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,328,000 after buying an additional 14,352 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,313,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,088,000 after acquiring an additional 48,599 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 80.5% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 37,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,577,000 after acquiring an additional 16,753 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $9,003,000 after acquiring an additional 51,420 shares during the period. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the second quarter worth approximately $4,799,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

Sonic Automotive, Inc is a U.S.-based automotive retailer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company operates franchised dealerships that sell new and pre-owned vehicles from a range of automobile manufacturers, along with related automotive products and services.

Its dealership operations provide vehicle financing and insurance products, maintenance and repair services, replacement parts, and collision-repair services. Sonic Automotive also operates EchoPark Automotive, a used-vehicle business focused on offering pre-owned vehicles and related finance and service products through dedicated retail locations.

Founded in 1997 by automotive entrepreneur O.