Arizona State Retirement System Boosts Stock Holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,324 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SAH. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 524.4% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 100,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,480,000 after acquiring an additional 84,489 shares during the period. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 2nd quarter valued at $82,000. TrueMark Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth $917,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 270.0% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 24,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,343,000 after buying an additional 17,989 shares during the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on SAH shares. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Sonic Automotive from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonic Automotive

In other news, CFO Heath Byrd sold 19,827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $10,417,080. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 40.95% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of SAH stock opened at $56.53 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $58.21 and its 200 day moving average is $56.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.65 and a beta of 1.61. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.19 and a 12 month high of $64.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.59%.

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.