New York State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Position in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 24,604 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,331 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.07% of Sonic Automotive worth $1,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SAH. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 515.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 1,429.7% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 1,444 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $185,000. Finally, Mariner LLC purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sonic Automotive news, President Jeff Dyke sold 31,152 shares of Sonic Automotive stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.05, for a total value of $2,182,197.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 605,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,448,128.45. The trade was a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 50,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,502,062 over the last three months. Insiders own 42.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sonic Automotive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $64.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $93.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonic Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.71.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 0.8%

SAH stock opened at $86.96 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.39, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.29 and a twelve month high of $88.57.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 19.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio 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.