Allianz Asset Management GmbH Cuts Stock Holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lowered its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 2.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,702 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,858 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.19% of Sonic Automotive worth $5,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at $84,000. Harrell Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at $240,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at $270,000. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at $218,000. Finally, Eisler Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at $219,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SAH. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.71.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Sonic Automotive stock opened at $77.87 on Thursday. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.00 and a 12-month high of $89.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $78.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.03.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.66 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.07% and a return on equity of 21.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.47 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.