Quest Partners LLC Sells 2,147 Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Quest Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 20.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,508 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,147 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $498,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Sonic Automotive by 524.4% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 100,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,480,000 after purchasing an additional 84,489 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 679.8% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 95,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,175,000 after buying an additional 82,823 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 12.6% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 630,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,898,000 after buying an additional 70,540 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Sonic Automotive by 831.1% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 35,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,959,000 after buying an additional 32,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Sonic Automotive by 124.7% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 55,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,239,000 after acquiring an additional 30,731 shares during the period. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SAH. Bank of America reduced their target price on Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $64.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Sonic Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.40.

Sonic Automotive Trading Up 5.3 %

SAH opened at $66.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The company’s 50 day moving average is $58.72 and its 200-day moving average is $57.84. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $47.82 and a 1-year high of $67.15.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by ($0.17). Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.41% and a return on equity of 21.27%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 21.35%.

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.