Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $63.00 to $75.00. The stock had previously closed at $57.36, but opened at $58.67. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Sonic Automotive shares last traded at $55.88, with a volume of 13,773 shares.

SAH has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on Sonic Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sonic Automotive news, President Jeff Dyke sold 16,734 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $1,004,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 817,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,065,180. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 16,734 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $1,004,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 817,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,065,180. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 173,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,417,080. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 39,041 shares of company stock valued at $2,342,460. Company insiders own 40.95% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Point72 DIFC Ltd lifted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 2,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 10.8% during the 2nd 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 lifted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 3.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $730,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Trading Down 7.6 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04. The company has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 1.61.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.56 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 25.31% and a net margin of 1.35%. The company’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.59%.

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.