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

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the six analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $79.20.

A number of brokerages have commented on SAH. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $74.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Stephens upped their target price on Sonic Automotive from $83.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Sonic Automotive from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Institutional Trading of Sonic Automotive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pacific Global Investment Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacific Global Investment Management Co. now owns 4,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 25,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,643,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $530,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 20,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,305,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 515.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SAH opened at $66.56 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $69.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.90. Sonic Automotive has a one year low of $47.82 and a one year high of $76.78. The firm has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.77 and a beta of 1.70.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.05. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 19.96% and a net margin of 1.52%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive 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 Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.65%.

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.