Sonic Automotive, Inc. (SAH) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.41 on January 15th

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share on Friday, January 15th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th.

Sonic Automotive has raised its dividend by an average of 0.3% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 4 years. Sonic Automotive has a dividend payout ratio of 23.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Sonic Automotive to earn $7.07 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 23.2%.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

NYSE:SAH opened at $62.92 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $67.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.12, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.92. Sonic Automotive has a 1-year low of $54.11 and a 1-year high of $113.67.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.36). The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 20.23% and a net margin of 1.33%. The firm’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Sonic Automotive will post 6.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens set a $89.00 target price on Sonic Automotive in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research cut shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $107.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.75.

About Sonic Automotive

Sonic Automotive, Inc is a U.S.-based automotive retailer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company operates franchised dealerships that sell new and pre-owned vehicles from a range of automobile manufacturers, along with related automotive products and services.

Its dealership operations provide vehicle financing and insurance products, maintenance and repair services, replacement parts, and collision-repair services. Sonic Automotive also operates EchoPark Automotive, a used-vehicle business focused on offering pre-owned vehicles and related finance and service products through dedicated retail locations.

Founded in 1997 by automotive entrepreneur O.