Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Price Target Increased to $53.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) had its price objective hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $48.00 to $53.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised Sonic Automotive from an underperform rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com cut Sonic Automotive from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $56.60.

Sonic Automotive Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:SAH opened at $56.43 on Thursday. Sonic Automotive has a 12-month low of $39.02 and a 12-month high of $64.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 1.75.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.06. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.21% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. Sonic Automotive’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Sonic Automotive will post 5.77 EPS for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.59%.

Insider Activity at Sonic Automotive

In other Sonic Automotive news, CEO David Bruton Smith sold 3,861 shares of Sonic Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.43, for a total value of $237,181.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 583,054 shares in the company, valued at $35,817,007.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 40.95% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 35,366.7% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 2,122 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the third quarter worth $135,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at $185,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

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.