Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Stock Falls 5.5% – Time to Sell?

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) fell 5.5% on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $60.29 and last traded at $60.4880. Approximately 193,237 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 287,075 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SAH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Zacks Research cut shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $107.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sonic Automotive has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.12.

Sonic Automotive Trading Down 5.5%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $70.54 and a 200-day moving average of $78.01. The stock has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 1.37%. Sonic Automotive’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.19 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonic Automotive

In other Sonic Automotive news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak bought 27,756 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $59.76 per share, with a total value of $1,658,698.56. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 5,149,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $307,728,203.76. This represents a 0.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have purchased a total of 76,776 shares of company stock valued at $4,584,694 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 43.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Sonic Automotive by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,313,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,088,000 after buying an additional 48,599 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 64.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 131,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,003,000 after acquiring an additional 51,420 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the first quarter worth $8,450,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 11.5% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 88,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,043,000 after acquiring an additional 9,100 shares during the period. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the second quarter worth $4,799,000. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.