Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) Shares Bought by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 39.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,967 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,075 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $1,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SAH. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth $135,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Sonic Automotive by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the period. Olympiad Research LP purchased a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at $218,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SAH. TheStreet upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Bank of America raised Sonic Automotive from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.60.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

SAH stock opened at $58.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 1.75. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.02 and a 1 year high of $64.68. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 24.59%.

Insider Activity at Sonic Automotive

In other Sonic Automotive news, CEO David Bruton Smith sold 3,861 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.43, for a total transaction of $237,181.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 583,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,817,007.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 71,585 shares of company stock valued at $4,194,296 over the last three months. 40.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.