State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 769 Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue cut its holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,144 shares of the company’s stock after selling 769 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 2,718.9% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 29,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,427,000 after buying an additional 28,820 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 3rd quarter valued at $328,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter worth $1,770,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 2.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 57,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Sonic Automotive by 4.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 381,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,207,000 after purchasing an additional 16,117 shares in the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SAH has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Sonic Automotive from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com cut Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.40.

Sonic Automotive Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SAH opened at $49.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.04 and a beta of 1.82. The business’s 50 day moving average is $53.21 and its 200 day moving average is $51.62. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.02 and a 12-month high of $60.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 28.06% and a net margin of 1.24%. Sonic Automotive’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.61 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is 24.14%.

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.