Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Price Target Raised to $115.00

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) had its price objective raised by Citigroup from $95.00 to $115.00 in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Sonic Automotive from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Seaport Research Partners cut Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price objective on Sonic Automotive in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research raised Sonic Automotive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Stephens set a $89.00 price objective on Sonic Automotive in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.89.

Sonic Automotive Stock Down 1.6%

SAH opened at $86.83 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.53. The company has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.85, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.86. Sonic Automotive has a 1-year low of $54.11 and a 1-year high of $113.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.37% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is 26.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sonic Automotive news, President Jeff Dyke sold 35,114 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.22, for a total transaction of $2,992,415.08. Following the sale, the president directly owned 543,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,331,386.96. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 100,000 shares of company stock worth $8,408,160 over the last quarter. 43.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sonic Automotive

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL grew its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 41.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 183,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,964,000 after buying an additional 53,510 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 70.8% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 181,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,208,000 after buying an additional 75,125 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the first quarter worth $8,450,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 64.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 131,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,003,000 after acquiring an additional 51,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 3.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,313,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,088,000 after acquiring an additional 48,599 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

About Sonic Automotive

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.