Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.09 EPS

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) issued its earnings results on Monday. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.09, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.56 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 1.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of SAH stock traded up $1.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $58.93. The stock had a trading volume of 3,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 206,404. Sonic Automotive has a 12-month low of $41.19 and a 12-month high of $64.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 1.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $56.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is 24.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO David Bruton Smith sold 67,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.43, for a total value of $3,955,886.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 583,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,067,845.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Heath Byrd sold 2,480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $148,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 193,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,606,700. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David Bruton Smith sold 67,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.43, for a total value of $3,955,886.29. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 583,054 shares in the company, valued at $34,067,845.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 163,514 shares of company stock worth $9,625,454. 40.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SAH. Bank of America dropped their target price on Sonic Automotive from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Sonic Automotive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $63.00 in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.00.

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.