Intech Investment Management LLC Purchases 17,512 Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 418.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,692 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,512 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Sonic Automotive worth $1,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 85.3% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 8,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 3,820 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $730,000 after buying an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 630,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,898,000 after buying an additional 70,540 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased 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. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley upgraded 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 research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Three equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.40.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

NYSE:SAH opened at $69.42 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 1.11. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.82 and a fifty-two week high of $70.88. The firm has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35 and a beta of 1.61. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $59.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.92.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.17). Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.41% and a return on equity of 21.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 24.91%.

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.