Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Trading Down 2.8%

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) shares traded down 2.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $49.25 and last traded at $49.58. 22,553 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 208,398 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sonic Automotive currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.40.

Sonic Automotive Trading Down 0.9 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.62. 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 has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.04 and a beta of 1.82.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 28.06% and a net margin of 1.24%. The firm’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.61 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.14%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SAH. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,473,000. Balyasny Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 411.5% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management LLC now owns 633,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,442,000 after acquiring an additional 509,855 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 1,726.2% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 456,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,715,000 after acquiring an additional 431,324 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 1,841.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 301,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,401,000 after acquiring an additional 285,999 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

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.