Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 447 Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,132 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SAH. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive in the third quarter valued at about $135,000. Olympiad Research LP acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the third quarter worth approximately $214,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 12.4% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 6,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $307,000. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonic Automotive

In other news, CEO David Bruton Smith sold 3,861 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.43, for a total value of $237,181.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 583,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,817,007.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 42.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on SAH. StockNews.com cut Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Sonic Automotive from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet raised Sonic Automotive from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Sonic Automotive from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonic Automotive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.60.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

Shares of SAH opened at $57.35 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $53.39 and a 200-day moving average of $52.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 1.75. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.02 and a twelve month high of $64.68.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.06. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.21% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.59%.

Sonic Automotive 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.