Citigroup Raises Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Price Target to $115.00

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) had its price target lifted by stock analysts at Citigroup from $95.00 to $115.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s target price suggests a potential upside of 30.30% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on SAH. Seaport Research Partners downgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price target on Sonic Automotive in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $77.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $90.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Sonic Automotive from $77.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.33.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

NYSE SAH traded down $3.32 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $88.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 223,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 280,355. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.86. Sonic Automotive has a 12 month low of $54.11 and a 12 month high of $113.67.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.37% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sonic Automotive will post 6.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonic Automotive

In related news, President Jeff Dyke sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.97, for a total transaction of $4,148,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 111,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,261,277.34. This trade represents a 30.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 100,000 shares of company stock worth $8,408,160 in the last three months. 43.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SAH. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 37.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 13,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $795,000 after acquiring an additional 3,777 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 23,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,328,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Sonic Automotive by 124.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 355,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,239,000 after acquiring an additional 197,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Sonic Automotive by 15.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 38,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,204,000 after purchasing an additional 5,286 shares during the period. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

Sonic Automotive, Inc is a publicly traded automotive retailer that operates a network of franchised new-car dealerships and used-vehicle dealerships across the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the company offers a range of services that include vehicle sales, leasing, finance and insurance products, service and parts, and collision repair. Sonic Automotive’s dealerships represent numerous major automotive brands, and the company also markets a broad selection of pre-owned vehicles under its own banner.

In addition to its core dealership operations, Sonic Automotive has developed digital retail capabilities that allow customers to research, shop and complete transactions online.