Public Sector Pension Investment Board Sells 1,800 Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lowered its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 5.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,918 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,800 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.09% of Sonic Automotive worth $1,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SAH. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 679.8% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 95,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,175,000 after purchasing an additional 82,823 shares during the last quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. acquired a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,645,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 32,106 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Sonic Automotive by 124.7% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 55,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,239,000 after buying an additional 30,731 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SAH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $64.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Sonic Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $58.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.40.

Sonic Automotive Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE SAH opened at $67.67 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a 50 day moving average of $60.69 and a 200-day moving average of $58.43. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $47.82 and a 1-year high of $70.88.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. Sonic Automotive’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a positive change from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.