Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Position in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 7.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,449 shares of the company’s stock after selling 892 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SAH. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Sonic Automotive by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 456,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,870,000 after purchasing an additional 16,556 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 524.4% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 100,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,480,000 after acquiring an additional 84,489 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 679.8% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 88,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,838,000 after buying an additional 18,800 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 124.7% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 55,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,239,000 after buying an additional 30,731 shares during the period. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on SAH. Stephens initiated coverage on Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. Bank of America cut their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded Sonic Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.40.

Sonic Automotive Stock Down 1.2 %

SAH opened at $68.28 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 1.11. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $47.82 and a one year high of $70.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 1.65.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 21.27% and a net margin of 1.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.6 EPS for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is 21.35%.

Sonic Automotive 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.