JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Price Target to $72.00

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) had its target price reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $76.00 to $72.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on SAH. Citigroup raised their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research raised Sonic Automotive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Bank of America increased their target price on Sonic Automotive from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Stephens set a $89.00 price target on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $77.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.89.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

SAH stock opened at $84.67 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company’s 50-day moving average is $89.00 and its 200-day moving average is $74.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of 13.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.86. Sonic Automotive has a 1 year low of $54.11 and a 1 year high of $113.67.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 1.37%.The business had revenue of $3.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Sonic Automotive will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 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 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 26.16%.

Insider Activity at Sonic Automotive

In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 35,114 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.22, for a total value of $2,992,415.08. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 543,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,331,386.96. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 100,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,408,160 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 43.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Sonic Automotive by 992.5% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter worth $50,000. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the third quarter valued at about $78,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the first quarter valued at about $79,000. 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.