Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) have received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $79.20.

SAH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $74.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $83.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

Sonic Automotive Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of SAH stock opened at $58.87 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. Sonic Automotive has a 1 year low of $47.82 and a 1 year high of $76.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $69.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 1.70.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.05. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.52% and a return on equity of 19.96%. On average, equities analysts predict that Sonic Automotive will post 6.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.65%.

Institutional Trading of Sonic Automotive

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SAH. Phocas Financial Corp. bought a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,645,000. Denali Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 111.2% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 87,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,518,000 after buying an additional 45,857 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 110.9% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 69,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,420,000 after buying an additional 36,691 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 105.2% in the 4th quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 58,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,708,000 after buying an additional 30,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 80,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,129,000 after buying an additional 27,726 shares in the last quarter. 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.