Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Price Target Lowered to $93.00 at Needham & Company LLC

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) had its price objective trimmed by Needham & Company LLC from $100.00 to $93.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on SAH. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $83.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $77.80.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

SAH stock opened at $60.86 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.85 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.87. Sonic Automotive has a fifty-two week low of $47.82 and a fifty-two week high of $76.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.05. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.52% and a return on equity of 19.96%. Sell-side analysts predict that Sonic Automotive will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 22.65%.

Institutional Trading of Sonic Automotive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SAH. Phocas Financial Corp. raised its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 86.6% during the 4th quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 116,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,370,000 after buying an additional 54,008 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 111.2% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 87,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,518,000 after buying an additional 45,857 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 110.9% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 69,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,420,000 after buying an additional 36,691 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 105.2% during the 4th quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 58,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,708,000 after buying an additional 30,002 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 80,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,129,000 after buying an additional 27,726 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

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.