Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Price Target Raised to $92.00

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) had its price objective lifted by Barclays from $77.00 to $92.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on SAH. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price target on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $77.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 13th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.67.

Sonic Automotive Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of SAH opened at $100.34 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.89. Sonic Automotive has a one year low of $54.11 and a one year high of $104.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.32.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.22. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 22.45% and a net margin of 0.72%.The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. Sonic Automotive’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.41 dividend. This is a positive change from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonic Automotive

In related news, President Jeff Dyke sold 35,114 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.22, for a total transaction of $2,992,415.08. Following the sale, the president directly owned 543,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,331,386.96. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 100,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,408,160. 43.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sonic Automotive

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 37.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 13,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 3,777 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 23,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,328,000 after buying an additional 2,793 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 124.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 355,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,239,000 after buying an additional 197,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Sonic Automotive by 15.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 38,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,204,000 after acquiring an additional 5,286 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

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.