New York State Teachers Retirement System Has $1.50 Million Holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 5.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,723 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,413 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.08% of Sonic Automotive worth $1,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive during the second quarter worth $41,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive during the second quarter worth $82,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd increased its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 6.9% during the second quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 2,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive during the second quarter worth $228,000. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $58.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $64.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.40.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

NYSE:SAH opened at $64.63 on Friday. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $47.82 and a one year high of $66.25. The company has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 1.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $57.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.41% and a return on equity of 21.27%. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 24.91%.

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

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.