Empowered Funds LLC Has $9 Million Stock Holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 64.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 131,302 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,420 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.42% of Sonic Automotive worth $9,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in Sonic Automotive by 13.3% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 10,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 11.5% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 88,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,043,000 after buying an additional 9,100 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 46,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,166,000 after buying an additional 3,293 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 29.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 1,709 shares in the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Sonic Automotive

Here are the key news stories impacting Sonic Automotive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue rose 7.6% to approximately $3.9 billion, exceeding the $3.78 billion analyst estimate. Adjusted earnings of $1.82 per share also beat expectations of $1.75. Sonic Automotive Q2 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Sonic Automotive reported record second-quarter total gross profit of $616.2 million, up 2% year over year, indicating continued scale and demand despite a challenging cost environment. Sonic Automotive Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, payable October 15 to shareholders of record September 15. The payment represents an annualized dividend of $1.64 and an indicated yield of about 1.6%.
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly EPS declined from $2.19 a year earlier to $1.82, while net margin was only 0.72%. Reports attributed the pressure on profitability to higher dealership costs, tempering the impact of the revenue and earnings beats. Sonic Automotive Shares Turn Negative as Profitability Undermined by Dealership Costs

Insider Transactions at Sonic Automotive

In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.97, for a total transaction of $4,148,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 111,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,261,277.34. This trade represents a 30.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 100,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,408,160. Corporate insiders own 43.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SAH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Barclays upped their target price on Sonic Automotive from $77.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings raised Sonic Automotive from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Sonic Automotive from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price objective on Sonic Automotive in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.67.

Sonic Automotive Trading Down 10.4%

Shares of SAH stock opened at $100.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.89. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.11 and a twelve month high of $113.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.83.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 22.45% and a net margin of 0.72%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 52.23%.

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

Sonic Automotive, Inc is a publicly traded automotive retailer that operates a network of franchised new-car dealerships and used-vehicle dealerships across the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the company offers a range of services that include vehicle sales, leasing, finance and insurance products, service and parts, and collision repair. Sonic Automotive’s dealerships represent numerous major automotive brands, and the company also markets a broad selection of pre-owned vehicles under its own banner.

In addition to its core dealership operations, Sonic Automotive has developed digital retail capabilities that allow customers to research, shop and complete transactions online.