Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $5.94 Million Holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,597 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,478 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.26% of Sonic Automotive worth $5,938,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SAH. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 992.5% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the third quarter valued at about $78,000. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of SAH opened at $102.71 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.11 and a 12 month high of $104.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $86.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.94.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.22. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 22.45% and a net margin of 0.72%.The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. This is a positive change from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.23%.

Insider Transactions at Sonic Automotive

In other Sonic Automotive news, President Jeff Dyke sold 50,000 shares of Sonic Automotive stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 100,000 shares of company stock worth $8,408,160 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 43.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SAH. Citigroup boosted their price target on Sonic Automotive from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $77.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research raised Sonic Automotive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price objective on Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners lowered Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.67.

Sonic Automotive 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.