Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Now Covered by Analysts at Benchmark

Benchmark began coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $83.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup began coverage on Sonic Automotive in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $64.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $93.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.71.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Sonic Automotive stock opened at $70.00 on Wednesday. Sonic Automotive has a 1-year low of $51.27 and a 1-year high of $76.78. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $62.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 1.04.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.02. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.52% and a return on equity of 19.96%. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive will post 6.14 EPS for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.94%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SAH. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Sonic Automotive by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,557,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,658,000 after purchasing an additional 20,058 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 80,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,129,000 after buying an additional 27,726 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 291,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,443,000 after buying an additional 18,232 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 54.4% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 45,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,851,000 after buying an additional 15,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at $244,000. 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.