Needham & Company LLC Reiterates Buy Rating for Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH)

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 35.21% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on SAH. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays reduced their target price on Sonic Automotive from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Sonic Automotive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.75.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SAH opened at $66.56 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of 19.63 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.86. Sonic Automotive has a 1-year low of $52.00 and a 1-year high of $89.62.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.01). Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 0.78% and a return on equity of 21.56%. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.51 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive will post 6.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Sonic Automotive

In other news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak purchased 48,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $59.92 per share, for a total transaction of $2,908,516.80. Following the purchase, the insider owned 5,088,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $304,904,058.48. The trade was a 0.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 100,000 shares of company stock worth $5,994,472. 42.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Sonic Automotive by 992.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 437 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $78,000. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Sonic Automotive

Here are the key news stories impacting Sonic Automotive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large insider accumulation — Major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak bought tens of thousands of shares in multiple transactions in February, raising his stake to roughly ~5.1M shares; repeated insider purchases at ~\$60 signal board-level confidence and likely supported buying interest. SEC Filing: Insider Purchases
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend declared — Sonic announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38/share (ex-dividend March 13; payable April 15), implying a ~2.4% yield and a ~41% payout ratio, which can attract income-focused investors and help support the share price.
• Positive Sentiment: Record gross profit highlighted — Management pointed to record gross profit in Q4, suggesting operational improvements that could underwrite margin recovery if sustained. Investing.com: Record Gross Profit
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings materials available — The Q4 call transcript and slides were posted for deeper review (F&I, EchoPark/used-vehicle trends and inventory commentary are areas analysts will parse for guidance changes). Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed — Needham reaffirmed a buy and a $90 target while Stephens trimmed its target to $67 and is at equal weight; mixed research keeps near-term consensus ambiguous and can amplify volatility. The Fly: PT Change
• Negative Sentiment: Slight Q4 miss and revenue pressure — Q4 EPS of $1.52 missed consensus by $0.01 and revenue of $3.87B trailed estimates (~$3.94B); revenue fell ~0.6% YoY and net margin remained thin, giving short-term bears ammunition about demand and margin durability. Zacks: Q4 Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Structural concerns flagged by analysts — Commentary and follow-up pieces note elevated debt levels, tariff exposure and margin risks that could cap the stock’s near-term upside absent clearer sales/margin improvement. Zacks: How to Approach Post-Q4

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

Sonic Automotive, Inc is a publicly traded automotive retailer that operates a network of franchised new-car dealerships and used-vehicle dealerships across the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the company offers a range of services that include vehicle sales, leasing, finance and insurance products, service and parts, and collision repair. Sonic Automotive’s dealerships represent numerous major automotive brands, and the company also markets a broad selection of pre-owned vehicles under its own banner.

In addition to its core dealership operations, Sonic Automotive has developed digital retail capabilities that allow customers to research, shop and complete transactions online.