Key Points
- Insider buying: Major shareholder Paul Rusnak purchased 13,701 Sonic Automotive shares for about $819,000, increasing his ownership to 5.16 million shares.
- Financial performance: Sonic Automotive reported quarterly EPS of $1.82, exceeding estimates by $0.07, while revenue rose 7.6% year over year to $3.93 billion.
- Mixed market outlook: Shares opened at $60.35, near their 12-month low, while analysts maintained a consensus “Hold” rating with a $90.12 price target. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, yielding approximately 2.7%.
Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) major shareholder Paul Rusnak bought 13,701 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $59.78 per share, for a total transaction of $819,045.78. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 5,164,221 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $308,717,131.38. The trade was a 0.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company's stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.
Sonic Automotive Stock Down 1.9%
Sonic Automotive stock opened at $60.35 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $73.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.11 and a twelve month high of $113.67. The company has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.92.
Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.37% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The company had revenue of $3.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.19 EPS. Sonic Automotive's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.81 EPS for the current year.
Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Sonic Automotive's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.16%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SAH. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the first quarter worth $79,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive during the second quarter worth about $88,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its stake in Sonic Automotive by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the company's stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 2nd quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 2,981.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,067 shares of the company's stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 3,935 shares in the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Seaport Research Partners lowered Sonic Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sonic Automotive currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $90.12.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Sonic Automotive
Sonic Automotive Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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