Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH Holdings Lifted by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 39.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 68,842 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,483 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $5,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SAH. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 13.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 23,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after buying an additional 2,793 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 5.8% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Sonic Automotive by 124.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 355,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,239,000 after buying an additional 197,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 15.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 38,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,204,000 after buying an additional 5,286 shares in the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Sonic Automotive

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

• Positive Sentiment: Large insider accumulation — Paul P. Rusnak bought multiple blocks of shares in February (totaling tens of thousands across filings), increasing his stake to ~5.1M shares; repeated buys from a major holder tend to support sentiment. SEC Filing: Insider Purchases
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend declared — Sonic announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38/share (ex-dividend March 13; payable April 15), implying a ~2.4% yield and a ~41% payout ratio that can attract income-oriented buyers.
• Positive Sentiment: Record gross profit flagged on the call — Management highlighted record gross profit in Q4, supporting a margin-recovery narrative despite top-line pressure. Investing.com: Record Gross Profit
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings materials available — Slides and the full earnings call transcript are posted for deeper analysis of F&I, used-vehicle trends and inventory; analysts will parse these for guidance and margin drivers. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst mix — Needham reaffirmed a Buy and a $90 target (large upside vs. current levels), showing bullish conviction from some desks. Benzinga: Needham Reaffirmation
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 slight miss — Sonic reported $1.52 EPS (missed consensus by $0.01) and revenues of $3.87B (below estimates ~ $3.94B), with revenue down ~0.6% YoY and low net margins (~0.9%); this gives short-term bearish talking points on demand. Zacks: Q4 Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Price-target trim by Stephens — Stephens cut its target to $67 and set an Equal Weight rating, which is a near-term headwind for sentiment versus higher targets. The Fly: Stephens Cut

Sonic Automotive Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE SAH opened at $64.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $52.00 and a one year high of $89.62. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $62.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of 19.04 and a beta of 0.93.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.94 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 0.78%.Sonic Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.51 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak purchased 11,481 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $59.95 per share, for a total transaction of $688,285.95. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 5,100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $305,745,000. The trade was a 0.23% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 100,000 shares of company stock worth $5,994,472. Company insiders own 42.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SAH shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Monday, December 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research upgraded Sonic Automotive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.75.

Sonic Automotive 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.