Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Barclays

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) had its price target trimmed by Barclays from $75.00 to $73.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on SAH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Sonic Automotive from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Sonic Automotive from $107.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Stephens set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonic Automotive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.62.

Sonic Automotive Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:SAH traded down $1.13 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $61.67. The stock had a trading volume of 226,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 297,483. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. Sonic Automotive has a one year low of $54.11 and a one year high of $113.67. The company has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.92, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.98.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.36). The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 1.33%. Sonic Automotive’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Sonic Automotive will post 6.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonic Automotive

In other news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak bought 12,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.90 per share, with a total value of $752,044.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,176,776 shares in the company, valued at $310,088,882.40. The trade was a 0.24% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders acquired 76,776 shares of company stock valued at $4,584,694 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 43.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SAH. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Sonic Automotive by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 776 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $300,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $153,000. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in Sonic Automotive by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 10,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $630,000 after buying an additional 2,412 shares during the period. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its position in Sonic Automotive by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

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.