Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Price Target Raised to $139.00 at Needham & Company LLC

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) had its price target lifted by Needham & Company LLC from $90.00 to $139.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on SAH. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on Sonic Automotive from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Sonic Automotive from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research raised Sonic Automotive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Stephens set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.11.

Sonic Automotive Trading Down 8.9%

Shares of Sonic Automotive stock opened at $91.43 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $88.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.95. Sonic Automotive has a 12-month low of $54.11 and a 12-month high of $113.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. The stock has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 14.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.89.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 20.68% and a net margin of 1.37%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.19 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is 26.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sonic Automotive news, President Jeff Dyke sold 35,114 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.22, for a total transaction of $2,992,415.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 543,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,331,386.96. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 100,000 shares of company stock worth $8,408,160. 43.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sonic Automotive

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

Key Sonic Automotive News

Here are the key news stories impacting Sonic Automotive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Needham raised its price target to $139 from $90 and upgraded SAH to “Buy,” implying substantial potential upside from recent trading levels. The upgrade provides a bullish catalyst following the earnings report. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue rose 8% year over year to approximately $3.9 billion, exceeding the $3.78 billion analyst estimate. Sonic also reported record quarterly gross profit of $616.2 million, up 2% year over year. Sonic Automotive Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted earnings of $1.82 per share topped the $1.75 consensus estimate by $0.07, indicating better-than-expected quarterly results despite pressure on margins. Sonic Automotive Q2 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Sonic declared a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, payable October 15 to eligible shareholders. The annualized payout is $1.64 per share, representing an indicated yield of about 1.6%.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management’s second-quarter earnings call and presentation provide additional details on operating performance and the company’s outlook, but the reported headline results remain mixed. Sonic Automotive Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Profit fell from $2.19 per share in the year-earlier quarter to $1.82, while net margin was only 0.72%. Reports attributed the weaker profitability to higher dealership costs, which overshadowed the revenue growth and earnings beat. Sonic Automotive Shares Turn Negative as Profitability Undermined by Dealership Costs

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.