Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) Plans $0.35 Quarterly Dividend

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 12th,NASDAQ Dividends reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.35 per share on Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th.

Sonic Automotive has raised its dividend by an average of 39.6% per year over the last three years. Sonic Automotive has a dividend payout ratio of 18.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Sonic Automotive to earn $6.15 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.8%.

Sonic Automotive Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of SAH stock opened at $73.44 on Friday. Sonic Automotive has a fifty-two week low of $47.82 and a fifty-two week high of $76.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.64. The company has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 1.68.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.05. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.41% and a return on equity of 21.27%. Research analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SAH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $74.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $83.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.00.

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.