Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) Receives $61.00 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $61.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SAH shares. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 4.6 %

SAH stock opened at $62.56 on Thursday. Sonic Automotive has a twelve month low of $41.19 and a twelve month high of $64.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04. The company has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 1.61. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.40.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.09. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.35% and a return on equity of 25.31%. The firm had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is 24.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 15,000 shares of Sonic Automotive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.76, for a total transaction of $851,400.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 161,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,173,664.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Heath Byrd sold 19,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $1,189,620.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 173,618 shares in the company, valued at $10,417,080. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Jeff Dyke sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.76, for a total value of $851,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 161,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,173,664.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,041 shares of company stock worth $3,193,860. Insiders own 40.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sonic Automotive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter worth $416,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at about $218,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 9,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in Sonic Automotive by 39.5% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 24,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,403,000 after buying an additional 7,075 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

About Sonic Automotive

Sonic Automotive, Inc operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. It operates in three segments, Franchised Dealerships, EchoPark, and Powersports. The Franchised Dealerships segment is involved in the sale of new and used cars and light trucks, and replacement parts; provision of vehicle maintenance, manufacturer warranty repair, and paint and collision repair services; and arrangement of extended warranties, service contracts, financing, insurance, and other aftermarket products for its guests.