Sonic Automotive’s (SAH) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reissued their buy rating on shares of Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $95.00 price target on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Sonic Automotive from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Stephens downgraded Sonic Automotive from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sonic Automotive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $72.00 price target (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.14.

Sonic Automotive Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE SAH opened at $76.06 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.03. Sonic Automotive has a one year low of $52.00 and a one year high of $89.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90 and a beta of 0.95.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.66 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.07% and a return on equity of 21.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive will post 6.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 38.2% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 14,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $814,000 after purchasing an additional 3,952 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 266.1% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $803,000 after buying an additional 10,246 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 6,802.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $668,000 after buying an additional 11,564 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 23.0% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 25,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 4,745 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,940,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.