Heath Byrd Sells 2,480 Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) Stock

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) CFO Heath Byrd sold 2,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $148,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 193,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,606,700. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Sonic Automotive Stock Down 0.5 %

SAH stock opened at $56.19 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.19 and a 12 month high of $64.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $55.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.11.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.06. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 1.21%. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Sonic Automotive from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Bank of America raised shares of Sonic Automotive from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SAH. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 140.4% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 17,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $855,000 after buying an additional 10,450 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Sonic Automotive by 4.4% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in Sonic Automotive by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 6,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Sonic Automotive by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 57,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118 shares during the period. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $314,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

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.