Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Receives “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $74.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 8.21% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.20.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

NYSE SAH opened at $68.39 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. Sonic Automotive has a 12 month low of $47.82 and a 12 month high of $70.88. The company’s 50 day moving average is $65.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.39.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.41% and a return on equity of 21.27%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 3.8% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 456,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,870,000 after buying an additional 16,556 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 679.8% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 95,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,175,000 after buying an additional 82,823 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 26.8% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 88,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,838,000 after buying an additional 18,800 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp. purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive during the third quarter worth $3,645,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 56,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,570,000 after buying an additional 978 shares during the period. 46.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.