Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Raised to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $58.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $40.00.

SAH has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America dropped their price objective 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. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Sonic Automotive in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. They set a buy rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Sonic Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an equal weight rating and a $64.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $66.50.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of SAH stock opened at $59.06 on Wednesday. Sonic Automotive has a 12-month low of $41.19 and a 12-month high of $64.68. The company has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.09. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 25.31% and a net margin of 1.35%. The firm had revenue of $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. Sonic Automotive’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.59%.

Insider Transactions at Sonic Automotive

In other news, CFO Heath Byrd sold 19,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 173,618 shares in the company, valued at $10,417,080. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 40.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Point72 DIFC Ltd boosted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 6.9% in the second quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 2,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 3.4% in the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 10.8% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 3.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $730,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

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.