Insider Buying: Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Major Shareholder Buys $1,658,698.56 in Stock

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) major shareholder Paul Rusnak purchased 27,756 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $59.76 per share, for a total transaction of $1,658,698.56. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 5,149,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $307,728,203.76. This represents a 0.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Sonic Automotive Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Sonic Automotive stock opened at $61.40 on Friday. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.11 and a 52-week high of $113.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of 9.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.92. 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 fifty day moving average price is $74.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.22.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.37% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The company had revenue of $3.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.81 EPS for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.16%.

Trending Headlines about Sonic Automotive

Here are the key news stories impacting Sonic Automotive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder Paul Rusnak bought 21,645 shares for approximately $1.29 million on October 1, 27,756 shares for about $1.66 million on October 5, and another 1,119 shares for roughly $67,000 on October 6. The purchases increased his already substantial position to more than 5.15 million shares and may signal confidence that SAH is undervalued after its decline. Insider buying report
• Positive Sentiment: UBS maintained a “Buy” rating on Sonic Automotive, suggesting it still sees potential upside despite reducing its price target to $74 from $107. The continued Buy rating may help support the shares. UBS price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: Sonic Automotive scheduled its third-quarter 2026 earnings release for October 29 before the market opens, followed by a management conference call. Investors will be watching dealership demand, used-vehicle trends, margins, and guidance for signs that the recent weakness is temporary. Third-quarter earnings announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays retained its “Hold” rating, underscoring the mixed analyst view on SAH. The lack of broad conviction could limit gains until the company reports its next results. Barclays rating
• Negative Sentiment: UBS’s large price-target reduction, despite retaining its Buy rating, signals that analysts have lowered their assumptions for Sonic Automotive’s earnings or valuation. This offsets some of the benefit from the insider purchases.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SAH shares. Stephens set a $89.00 price objective on Sonic Automotive in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Sonic Automotive from $72.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Seaport Research Partners lowered Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $90.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.12.

Institutional Trading of Sonic Automotive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in Sonic Automotive by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $373,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the second quarter worth about $88,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 14.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,799,000. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

Sonic Automotive, Inc is an automotive retailer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company operates franchised dealerships that sell new and used cars and light trucks from a range of manufacturers, along with related automotive products and services.

Its dealership operations provide vehicle financing and insurance products, parts and maintenance services, collision repair, and other after-sales support. Sonic Automotive also operates EchoPark Automotive, a used-vehicle retail business focused on providing a broad selection of pre-owned vehicles and related services.

Founded in 1997 by automotive entrepreneur O.