16,082 Shares in Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH Bought by Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 16,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,224,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the third quarter worth about $892,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $63,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its position in Sonic Automotive by 172.5% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 14,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,120,000 after acquiring an additional 9,317 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Sonic Automotive by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,646,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,278,000 after acquiring an additional 96,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 39.5% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 68,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,238,000 after purchasing an additional 19,483 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Zacks Research lowered Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $68.00 price target on Sonic Automotive in a report on Monday, December 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak bought 48,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $59.92 per share, with a total value of $2,908,516.80. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 5,088,519 shares in the company, valued at $304,904,058.48. This represents a 0.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 100,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,994,472. 42.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sonic Automotive Stock Down 1.6%

NYSE:SAH opened at $61.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.00 and a twelve month high of $89.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $62.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.89.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.94 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 21.54% and a net margin of 0.78%.The business’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.84%.

About Sonic Automotive

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.