AlphaQuest LLC Has $1.31 Million Stock Holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

AlphaQuest LLC decreased its stake in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 18.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,703 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $1,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $84,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Harrell Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SAH opened at $64.55 on Friday. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.00 and a twelve month high of $89.62. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.14. The company has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.41). Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 21.69% and a net margin of 0.86%.The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. Sonic Automotive’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 EPS for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on SAH shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Stephens downgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $72.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.00.

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

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.