Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Earns Equal Weight Rating from Analysts at Stephens

Stephens began coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $64.00 price objective on the stock.

SAH has been the topic of several other reports. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on Sonic Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. They set a buy rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Sonic Automotive from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $63.50.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

SAH opened at $55.96 on Thursday. Sonic Automotive has a 1 year low of $41.19 and a 1 year high of $64.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $58.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.01. The firm has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a PE ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.09. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.35% and a return on equity of 25.31%. The business had revenue of $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Sonic Automotive will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 24.59%.

Insider Activity

In other Sonic Automotive news, CFO Heath Byrd sold 19,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $1,189,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 173,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,417,080. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 40.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive in the fourth quarter worth about $795,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,473,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 125.4% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 43,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,427,000 after purchasing an additional 24,021 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at $1,724,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in Sonic Automotive by 109.1% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 17,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,003,000 after buying an additional 9,193 shares during the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Sonic Automotive

Sonic Automotive, Inc operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. It operates in three segments, Franchised Dealerships, EchoPark, and Powersports. The Franchised Dealerships segment is involved in the sale of new and used cars and light trucks, and replacement parts; provision of vehicle maintenance, manufacturer warranty repair, and paint and collision repair services; and arrangement of extended warranties, service contracts, financing, insurance, and other aftermarket products for its guests.