D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Has $1.63 Million Stock Holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. cut its stake in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 36.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,751 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,671 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Sonic Automotive worth $1,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 515.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at $72,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 1,429.7% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at $185,000. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on SAH. Citigroup began coverage on Sonic Automotive in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Stephens boosted their price target on Sonic Automotive from $83.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Sonic Automotive from $93.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonic Automotive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.83.

Sonic Automotive Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of SAH stock opened at $66.84 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 1.04. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.27 and a twelve month high of $76.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.28.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.47 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 19.96% and a net margin of 1.52%. Sonic Automotive’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.94%.

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.