JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reaffirms “Underweight” Rating for Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH)

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH)‘s stock had its “underweight” rating reaffirmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $72.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $65.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would suggest a potential downside of 6.34% from the company’s current price.

SAH has been the topic of several other reports. Stephens lowered Sonic Automotive from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday. Bank of America upped their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sonic Automotive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.29.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

SAH opened at $76.87 on Thursday. 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 has a 12-month low of $52.00 and a 12-month high of $89.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $76.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 10.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.04.

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 net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 19.42%. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive will post 6.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sonic Automotive news, President Jeff Dyke sold 576 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $40,331.52. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 605,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,389,617.86. This trade represents a 0.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,502,062. 42.65% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 38.2% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 14,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $814,000 after acquiring an additional 3,952 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 266.1% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $803,000 after purchasing an additional 10,246 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 6,802.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 11,564 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 1.3% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 80,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,129,000 after buying an additional 27,726 shares in the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sonic Automotive

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.