Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on SAH. Citigroup started coverage on Sonic Automotive in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $64.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $93.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on Sonic Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.71.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SAH opened at $78.46 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.02. Sonic Automotive has a 52-week low of $51.27 and a 52-week high of $78.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $67.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.41.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.02. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 19.42% and a net margin of 1.69%. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive will post 6.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $40,331.52. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 605,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,389,617.86. This represents a 0.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 50,000 shares of company stock worth $3,502,062 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 42.65% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 515.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the first quarter worth $84,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 1,429.7% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter worth $185,000. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.