Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) Shares Acquired by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAHFree Report) by 346.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,413 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,940 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $1,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SAH. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 524.4% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 100,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,480,000 after buying an additional 84,489 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Sonic Automotive by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its stake in Sonic Automotive by 23.7% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 16,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $876,000 after purchasing an additional 3,083 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Sonic Automotive by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 88,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,838,000 after purchasing an additional 18,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC raised its stake in Sonic Automotive by 31.1% in the 2nd quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 48,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,620,000 after purchasing an additional 11,400 shares during the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on SAH shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. 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 note on Friday, October 25th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Sonic Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.40.

Read Our Latest Research Report on SAH

Sonic Automotive Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of SAH opened at $63.36 on Monday. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $47.82 and a 52-week high of $70.88. The company has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.27 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAHGet Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 21.27% and a net margin of 1.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.6 EPS for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. 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. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.91%.

About Sonic Automotive

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH)

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