Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Shares Up 9.4% – What’s Next?

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)’s stock price shot up 9.4% during trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $66.26 and last traded at $65.6750. Approximately 44,520 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 286,390 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Sonic Automotive from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $90.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $72.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.12.

Sonic Automotive Trading Up 0.2%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $71.22 and a 200-day moving average of $77.98. The stock has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.37% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.19 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.16%.

Insider Transactions at Sonic Automotive

In related news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak purchased 12,555 shares of Sonic Automotive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $59.90 per share, with a total value of $752,044.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,176,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $310,088,882.40. This trade represents a 0.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 76,776 shares of company stock valued at $4,584,694. 43.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 3.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,313,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,088,000 after purchasing an additional 48,599 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 64.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 131,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,003,000 after purchasing an additional 51,420 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the first quarter worth about $8,450,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 11.5% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 88,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,043,000 after purchasing an additional 9,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,799,000. 46.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Sonic Automotive

Sonic Automotive, Inc is an automotive retailer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company operates franchised dealerships that sell new and used cars and light trucks from a range of manufacturers, along with related automotive products and services.

Its dealership operations provide vehicle financing and insurance products, parts and maintenance services, collision repair, and other after-sales support. Sonic Automotive also operates EchoPark Automotive, a used-vehicle retail business focused on providing a broad selection of pre-owned vehicles and related services.

Founded in 1997 by automotive entrepreneur O.