Stephens Initiates Coverage on Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH)

Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) in a research note published on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $64.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. They set a buy rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Sonic Automotive from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Sonic Automotive from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $63.50.

Sonic Automotive Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE SAH opened at $55.96 on Thursday. Sonic Automotive has a fifty-two week low of $41.19 and a fifty-two week high of $64.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 1.61. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $58.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.01.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.09. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 25.31% and a net margin of 1.35%. The business had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sonic Automotive will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Heath Byrd sold 19,827 shares of Sonic Automotive stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $1,189,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 173,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,417,080. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 40.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sonic Automotive

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SAH. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the first quarter worth $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth about $82,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 35,366.7% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 2,122 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd increased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 2,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.