Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $5.58 Million Position in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 5.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 95,477 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,125 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.28% of Sonic Automotive worth $5,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SAH. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in Sonic Automotive by 679.8% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 95,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,175,000 after buying an additional 82,823 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in Sonic Automotive by 12.6% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 630,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,898,000 after buying an additional 70,540 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Sonic Automotive by 831.1% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 35,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,959,000 after buying an additional 32,106 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 124.7% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 55,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,239,000 after purchasing an additional 30,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the second quarter worth $1,351,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on SAH. Morgan Stanley upgraded Sonic Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Sonic Automotive from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Sonic Automotive from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America cut their target price on Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Sonic Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.40.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 5.3 %

Shares of SAH opened at $66.57 on Friday. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.82 and a 52 week high of $67.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $58.72 and a 200-day moving average of $57.84.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by ($0.17). Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.41% and a return on equity of 21.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. This is an increase from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.35%.

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.