LSV Asset Management Has $6.47 Million Stock Position in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

LSV Asset Management lessened its position in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 42.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 83,300 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 0.34% of Sonic Automotive worth $6,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 9,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 6,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 57,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,750,000 after buying an additional 1,118 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at $135,000. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David Bruton Smith sold 3,861 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.43, for a total value of $237,181.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 583,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,817,007.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 40.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sonic Automotive Trading Up 1.3 %

SAH opened at $58.04 on Thursday. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.02 and a 1-year high of $64.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $53.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.81.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.06. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.21% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. Sonic Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 24.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on SAH shares. Bank of America upgraded Sonic Automotive from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. TheStreet upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Sonic Automotive from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.60.

About Sonic Automotive

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.