Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) Receives $90.67 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $90.6667.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SAH shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $90.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Stephens set a $89.00 price objective on Sonic Automotive in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Sonic Automotive from $77.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

NYSE SAH opened at $112.29 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.89. Sonic Automotive has a 52-week low of $54.11 and a 52-week high of $113.67.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 0.72% and a return on equity of 22.45%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Sonic Automotive will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 35,114 shares of Sonic Automotive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.22, for a total transaction of $2,992,415.08. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 543,668 shares in the company, valued at $46,331,386.96. The trade was a 6.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 100,000 shares of company stock worth $8,408,160. 43.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAH. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 124.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 355,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,239,000 after acquiring an additional 197,336 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 1st quarter worth $8,450,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at $7,384,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 3rd quarter valued at $7,450,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 70.8% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 181,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,208,000 after purchasing an additional 75,125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

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.