Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $72.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $107.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Stephens set a $89.00 target price on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Monday, July 13th. Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.12.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

NYSE SAH opened at $61.02 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $72.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.14. Sonic Automotive has a twelve month low of $54.11 and a twelve month high of $113.67. The company has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a PE ratio of 9.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88.

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

Insider Transactions at Sonic Automotive

In other news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak purchased 13,701 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $59.78 per share, with a total value of $819,045.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,164,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $308,717,131.38. The trade was a 0.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders bought a total of 64,221 shares of company stock worth $3,832,650 over the last ninety days. 43.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings 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 worth $90,088,000 after purchasing an additional 48,599 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 64.4% in the first 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 during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive in the first quarter valued at approximately $8,450,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 11.5% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 88,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,043,000 after buying an additional 9,100 shares during the period. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,799,000. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Sonic Automotive

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.