Sonic Automotive (SAH) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) is scheduled to post its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, April 25th. Analysts expect Sonic Automotive to post earnings of $1.26 per share for the quarter. Investors interested in listening to the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 28.06% and a net margin of 1.24%. Sonic Automotive’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.61 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Sonic Automotive to post $6 EPS for the current fiscal year and $6 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of Sonic Automotive stock opened at $50.87 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $52.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.84. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.23 and a beta of 1.82. Sonic Automotive has a 12 month low of $39.02 and a 12 month high of $60.24.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on SAH. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com cut Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. TheStreet upgraded Sonic Automotive from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.40.

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.