Citigroup Inc. Sells 30,986 Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Citigroup Inc. lowered its stake in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 45.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,671 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,986 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.11% of Sonic Automotive worth $2,790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 124.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 355,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,239,000 after buying an additional 197,336 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,646,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,278,000 after acquiring an additional 96,836 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,564,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in Sonic Automotive by 79.2% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 126,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,130,000 after acquiring an additional 56,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Sonic Automotive by 209.0% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 67,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,410,000 after acquiring an additional 45,784 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Sonic Automotive in a report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.50.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

SAH opened at $61.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.89. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.00 and a 1 year high of $89.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of 18.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.91.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.94 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 21.54% and a net margin of 0.78%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.51 EPS. Research analysts expect that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 EPS for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is 44.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sonic Automotive news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak purchased 11,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.95 per share, for a total transaction of $688,285.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $305,745,000. This represents a 0.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 100,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,994,472. 42.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.