Wall Street Zen Upgrades Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) to Buy

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

SAH has been the subject of a number of other reports. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $71.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Sonic Automotive from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.25.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of SAH stock opened at $61.42 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $63.25 and a 200 day moving average of $73.24. Sonic Automotive has a 1 year low of $52.00 and a 1 year high of $89.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.60 and a beta of 0.92.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.41). Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 0.86% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Sonic Automotive will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 13,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 3,777 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 13.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 23,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,328,000 after buying an additional 2,793 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the period. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Finally, Petrus Trust Company LTA acquired a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at $866,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

About Sonic Automotive

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.