JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 52.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 80,957 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 27,726 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.24% of Sonic Automotive worth $5,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SAH. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,557,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,658,000 after purchasing an additional 20,058 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $185,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 47.7% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 9,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 2,986 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 20,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,305,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 10,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $655,000 after buying an additional 2,645 shares during the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SAH has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Stephens upped their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $83.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Sonic Automotive from $100.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.80.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of SAH opened at $58.87 on Friday. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $47.82 and a one year high of $76.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $63.35 and a 200 day moving average of $64.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 1.43.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.05. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.52% and a return on equity of 19.96%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 EPS for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.65%.

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.