Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Given New $72.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) had its price target boosted by Morgan Stanley from $60.00 to $72.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on SAH. Stephens cut shares of Sonic Automotive from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $72.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $72.00 price target (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.86.

Sonic Automotive Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of SAH opened at $79.28 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.12. The company has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Sonic Automotive has a one year low of $52.00 and a one year high of $89.62.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.56. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.07% and a return on equity of 21.40%. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.47 earnings per share. Sonic Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive will post 6.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This is a boost from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is 31.11%.

Insider Transactions at Sonic Automotive

In other Sonic Automotive news, President Jeff Dyke sold 576 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $40,331.52. Following the sale, the president owned 605,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,389,617.86. This trade represents a 0.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,502,062. 42.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 1.9% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 7,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC increased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 0.9% in the second quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 23,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,850,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 992.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

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.