Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Stock: Insider Paul Rusnak Acquires 12,555 Shares

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) major shareholder Paul Rusnak bought 12,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $59.90 per share, for a total transaction of $752,044.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 5,176,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $310,088,882.40. The trade was a 0.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Sonic Automotive Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Sonic Automotive stock traded up $0.12 on Friday, reaching $63.63. 317,564 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 288,554. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $71.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.11 and a fifty-two week high of $113.67.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The business 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 prior year, the business posted $2.19 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.81 EPS for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SAH. A&I Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Sonic Automotive by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. A&I Financial Services LLC now owns 11,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $997,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 15.5% during the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 14.5% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the second quarter worth about $88,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at about $79,000. 46.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Seaport Research Partners downgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. 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 research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.12.

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

Sonic Automotive, Inc is an automotive retailer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company operates franchised dealerships that sell new and used cars and light trucks from a range of manufacturers, along with related automotive products and services.

Its dealership operations provide vehicle financing and insurance products, parts and maintenance services, collision repair, and other after-sales support. Sonic Automotive also operates EchoPark Automotive, a used-vehicle retail business focused on providing a broad selection of pre-owned vehicles and related services.

Founded in 1997 by automotive entrepreneur O.