Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) Receives $77.75 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $77.50.

SAH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $68.00 price target on Sonic Automotive in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 11th.

Insider Transactions at Sonic Automotive

In other Sonic Automotive news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak purchased 48,540 shares of Sonic Automotive stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $59.92 per share, with a total value of $2,908,516.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,088,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,904,058.48. This trade represents a 0.96% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have acquired 100,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,994,472 over the last 90 days. 42.65% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 124.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 355,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,239,000 after acquiring an additional 197,336 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,384,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,450,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Sonic Automotive by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,646,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,278,000 after purchasing an additional 96,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the second quarter worth $6,564,000. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of Sonic Automotive stock opened at $62.78 on Monday. Sonic Automotive has a 12 month low of $52.00 and a 12 month high of $89.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $62.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.32. The firm has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.01). Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 0.78% and a return on equity of 21.54%. The business had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.94 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sonic Automotive will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 44.84%.

About Sonic Automotive

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.