JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Price Target to $75.00

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) had its target price raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $63.00 to $75.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. They set a buy rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $63.50.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SAH opened at $56.02 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $58.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.95. Sonic Automotive has a 1 year low of $41.19 and a 1 year high of $64.68. The company has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.56 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.35% and a return on equity of 25.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Sonic Automotive will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Heath Byrd sold 19,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $1,189,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 173,618 shares in the company, valued at $10,417,080. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 40.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SAH. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter worth about $31,473,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 524.4% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 100,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,480,000 after purchasing an additional 84,489 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 679.8% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 95,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,175,000 after purchasing an additional 82,823 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 831.1% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 35,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,959,000 after purchasing an additional 32,106 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,724,000. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

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.